Saving Ace
by Aline Riva
Summary: When the 12th Doctor hears Ace call the name Professor moments before she meets an untimely death, he knows he must travel back in time to try and prevent a tragic accident. But his meddling with the past of his former incarnation will cause ripples through time that will ultimately place more than one life in danger... 12/Ace/7. Drama/romance, warning: character death!
1. Chapter 1

Saving Ace

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Author Note

Consider this story to be AU, because I am writing this featuring the 12th Doctor when we don't know much about him yet, so I am using my imagination with the character. Also I am taking the story from the point of view that Ace left with the Seventh Doctor in the Tardis at the end of Survival, meaning that she went on to remain as his companion for a while longer. I'm guessing around three more years, at least for the benefit of this fic. So my plot for Ace begins at the end of the final TV episode where she leaves in the Tardis with the Seventh Doctor.

I just wanted to point that out, and to say, I hope this fic is enjoyed by all who read it ~ Aline Riva

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Summary

When the Twelfth Doctor hears an old friend call his name, her voice echoes through space and time. But she didn't call him Doctor - she called him _Professor_. And the Doctor recalls a set of events that caused his Seventh incarnation to part company with a young woman named Ace, never to see her again. _And he knows in a single beat of his twin hearts that his name had been called seconds before her death._

Deciding to go back and try to make amends for mistakes made in another life is a difficult choice, but as memories flood his mind and hearts, he makes the decision to travel back to Perivale, 1993, where he recalls his Seventh incarnation had left Ace for a brief time to visit her home town inbetween travels – and decides to set about persuading Ace that it would be in her best future interest to make certain changes, in the hope that an altered course may change a chain of events that will lead to her death ten years later.

But the task is not as easy as he first assumes, because as he gets to know her, old memories remind him that his Seventh incarnation was very guarded, especially when it came to affairs of the heart, and had always struggled to hide the depth of his feelings from Ace. Matters are further complicated when Ace begins to feel a strong attraction to the older, charismatic man who the Doctor has become in his new regeneration. Suddenly attractions are impossible to fight and the Twelfth Doctor wonders if he has made matters worse by visiting Ace. When he returns to the Tardis, he knows for sure he has meddled in a subject that he really ought to have left alone, because it seems the same out come still happens - the only difference being Ace and the Seventh Doctor part company much sooner than planned, and _not_ on good terms…

Unwilling to give up, the Twelfth Doctor waits for the Seventh to return to Perivale – and on meeting him, tells him the truth about the future and the untimely death of Ace. His revelations shock his former self, but also fill him with a new resolve to find the strength to be honest about his feelings.

The Twelfth Doctor leaves knowing a ripple has now passed through time and changed much – but as that ripple settles, he discovers meddling with time will have inevitable consequences, as it seems nothing can ever be perfect and endings are not always happy - and there is _always_ a price to be paid eventually, and saving Ace may well be impossible, for now it is not only Ace whose life is in grave danger in a future that still has a tragic outcome that now seems fixed in time…

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Rated T

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Warnings: This story features adult discussions and situations, adult language and a graphic character death.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is a work of fan fiction.

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Chapter 1

**The year 2000, mid January in the rain:**

She wanted to get back home to Perivale. The traffic was clogging up the motorway and as windscreen wipers moved back and forth it barely served a purpose other than to swipe away teeming rain that was instantly replaced by more. Mist was rising and visibility was poor. It was three in the afternoon and the sky was grey and the world was drenched as the rain continued to fall without slowing.

Dorothy was thirty years old and had just returned from a pointless meeting with a prospective business partner. Now her plans were on hold after finding out the potential partner knew nothing about running a cafe, and also had a long string of debts. She had worked hard to save up to get her own premises that she planned to call The Ace Cafe. It had been many years since anyone had called her Ace, but she planned to carry the name on into her business venture - _if _she could ever get it off the ground…

The rain was still falling and the traffic was slowing to a crawl up ahead. She gave a sigh and turned off the main road, drove down a side road and found here there were fewer cars and hoped the journey would be quicker now, but it was still the long way round even if it meant she could keep moving. She glanced in the mirror to see headlights gaining on her and swore under her breath; it seemed other drivers had the same idea and now she was heading towards a junction and the lights had just turned red…

She slowed the car to a halt and waited, glancing in the mirror again to see now there was a small tailback right behind her. Looking ahead between swipes of windscreen wipers that moved almost hypnotically she watched as traffic shot left and right, both lanes were busy and when the lights changed she knew she would not be the only car heading for the road straight across the lights. It was going to be a long journey home, and she was pissed off about the failed meeting and she just wanted to get home, turn on the heating and be warm and out of the miserable weather…

_And the red light flickered off._

Dorothy frowned as she looked through the swipe of wipers as rain continued to fall – had the traffic lights failed?

Then the light flickered back on and switched to amber.

The junction had ground to a halt.

She was watching for the green light.

It flashed on, glowing brightly in the rain.

She drove across the first lane, began to cross the second and then slammed on her brakes as tyres squealed on tarmac and she gripped the wheel in fright to see several cars had run into each other on the other side of the road, they were bumper to bumper and already more than one irate driver had got out to exchange some angry words.

_It was the lights. Something wrong with the electrics, and no one was hurt…_

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was _not_ an encounter with the Daleks or an army of Cybermen. That had been way back in the past, and she did _not_ need a can of nitro nine to get her out of this mess – she just needed a bit of patience to wait for the road to clear so she could turn around. She wouldn't be getting home any time soon, but she had seen a service station a few miles back and a hot coffee seemed like her best bet in a warm dry place while she waited for the road to clear, remembering at least her car didn't have a smashed headlight or a dented bumper, so it could have been _much_ worse…

She pulled over to the side of the road and parked there with hazard lights on as the rain continued to fall and the fog thickened and visibility grew worse. She watched as the lights flickered back to life and traffic sped up and down, left and right while the road across the other side remained blocked.

She wondered how long it would be before she could pull out of this space and move on. She reached for the radio to switch it on, and then heard the rush of water beneath wheels as something fast and heavy shot along wet tarmac.

She looked up to see a shadow looming out of the fog, then as visibility broke gleaming chrome rushed at her, along with large wheels and a thundering engine as the lorry swerved and sounded its horn, and then it slipped across the road, coming straight at her.

She took in a breath as everything flashed in front of her eyes; the lorry was skidding on the wet surface and heading straight for her. Every moment she had ever stored away in her mind popped out of the places where they had been filed away, like a whirlwind in a library, whipping up the pages of her life as if it was a book and scattering them about in front of her eyes - and then she saw him.

She saw the man with the question mark jumper.

"_Professor..."_ she whispered, wishing the man with the flying blue box would appear and save her.

And the lorry slammed into the car as glass shattered and steel buckled and the crushed vehicle was dragged along the road leaving wreckage in its wake, before the lorry skidded again, broke free from the car and hit an oncoming petrol tanker. The explosion echoed along the busy road as cars slammed on their brakes and ran into other vehicles. As flames shot up charring the lorry and the tanker, a plume of black smoke rose up skywards, mixing in with the fog and darkening the world as if nightfall had arrived early.

And at the side of the road, Dorothy's battered car was gleaming as the fire up ahead reflected off the twisted metal. And Dorothy's body lay across the bonnet of the car, her head turned towards the flames, firelight still reflecting in her eyes as she lay where the impact of the crash had thrown her, instantly breaking her neck.

_Ace was dead._

* * *

**The Future**

The Tardis had been orbiting just above the earth.

Clara had stood by the console and smiled as she watched the Doctor run a hand over a shining metal panel and then pause to consider their destination.

"You're taking your time, Doctor."

"I know," he replied, "Next question?"

And Clara frowned. Since his regeneration, she had warmed rather quickly to the handsome older man with the bedroom eyes and the Scottish accent who had replaced the man she had come to know as The Doctor. And while he could certainly have some deep and serious moods when turning his mind to heavy subject matter, he was also warm and charming and rarely so distant when nothing seemed out of place in the universe…

"Doctor?"

He recognised her curious tone and looked up from the console.

"You know something, you don't quite know what it is but you _do_ know something is up."

And he looked into her eyes and she saw centuries of wisdom reflecting back at her.

"But I don't know what it is," Clara replied, "That's why I asked you -"

"_Ace."_

She fell silent for a moment, recalling a conversation about people he had known over the centuries... The name rung a bell somewhere, and then she remembered.

"A companion, a friend of yours – from years back?"

He nodded.

"She was killed in a car accident. She said my name before she died. _It just echoed through time and reached back to me_."

Clara stepped closer and looked at him with deepest sorrow in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Doctor."

He put his hands in the pockets of his blue suit and turned away from her, looking out at the view of the earth below.

"I knew it was her right away. I felt her fear, I heard her last breath and she said _Professor_. She always called me that. And I was too cautious to ever tell her how much she meant to me. She was little more than a girl when we first met, but she was a young woman when I left her in Perivale. That was back in1993. I meant to go back for her but then I got caught up in some trouble in another galaxy and it suddenly made sense to leave her on earth. It was like there was nothing more that could have been said. I'd wanted to say plenty, but not in that incarnation. I just couldn't do it, I thought it would wreck our friendship."

"And what about now?"

He briefly smiled. Clara always asked the right questions, but sometimes he wished she wouldn't be so direct.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," he replied, "And totally useless."

Clara was standing beside him now, but his gaze was still fixed on the earth.

"You're planning something," she said quietly, "I know I'm right."

And he turned his head and glanced at her.

"I heard her say my name. His name, my seventh life's name. It was the last word she said before a lorry slammed into her car. He was her last thought. Of all the people she's known, all those who have passed through her life since her Professor, he was the one she thought of at the end. And I felt her pain."

Clara wanted to hold him and weep for the anguish she saw in his eyes. But for now they were not close enough to embrace so tightly. He was very different to his eleventh self, who she had quickly grown fond of and close to, this one was older, this one had eyes that could hold her in a glance and keep her there as long as he wished and he knew it too. She had thought up a name for him and he didn't know it yet. She thought of him as _Bedroom Eyes_. But now was not the time to think about such matters – perhaps one day he would find out just how much she appreciated his new regeneration, perhaps not – now was _not _a time for anything but sombre conversation. She had never seen him with a look of such sadness before.

"What are you going to do?"

It was all she could say – knowing him as she did, asking him if he was going to do something about it would have been pointless – she could tell by the look in his eyes that his mind was already made up.

"I'm not going to interfere too much," he said, and had this been about anything other than the death of Ace, Clara would have laughed.

"You always intend to be careful," she replied, "And you always go much further because you care."

He looked into her eyes and she saw a flicker of surprise.

"Remind me to kiss you one day," he said, "Because I appreciate that remark and you just touched my heart."

And then the warmth was gone and the moment was gone as he turned his attention back to the matter of Ace.

"I'm going to take the Tardis back to '93… I remember I left – I mean, he left her, my seventh incarnation left her, in Perivale for a few days…perhaps I can talk to her…I have to do something. She was thirty years old and she should still be alive, perhaps it was me, leaving her when I did…I mean him, when he left her. _He loved her. He really loved her and he never told her_."

And Clara nodded slowly.

"You need to do this alone, you've already decided that."

The look in his eyes softened as he looked at Clara and considered how her insightful nature was often a blessing.

"Yes I do," he replied, "And you have students to teach back on earth, don't let me keep you from them at least for the next few days, Miss Oswald."

She smiled.

"Take me to work, Doctor."

"Thanks for understanding," he replied, and she wanted to tell him she always did understand, but her voice was drowned out by the wheeze and whoosh of the Tardis as it passed through time and space and landed silently beneath the shade of a tree across the road from Coal Hill Elementary School.

The Doctor walked Clara to the Tardis door and she paused to smile up at him.

"Good luck," she said, and wanted to hug him, but instead he opened the door for her.

"Thanks, I may need it," he replied, and he smiled back at her and then she turned and walked away, and he closed the door of the Tardis once more.

Then his smile vanished as sorrow clouded his eyes and he thought about the young woman called Ace who his seventh incarnation had left behind. Living several lifetimes was not easy because all memories carried on, it was a lot of baggage over the centuries and his time with Ace was no exception. Worst of all, with every regeneration, personality changes made it possible to look back at old choices - especially when it came to relationships - and sometimes bitterly regret outcomes that he had once been at peace with.

He went back over to the console and turned dials and activated switches. He did it slowly, all the while remembering a girl called Ace who another version of him had once loved at a distance. He could still feel that ache in both his hearts and he wasn't sure why; perhaps it was the way her voice had suddenly reached across space and time, may be that was the reason his emotions felt so raw.

Or maybe it was the thought that Ace had died in the year 2000, yet that past echo had carried through into the future, reaching him now, in his twelfth incarnation – there had to be a reason, either that, or it was just that time was a funny old thing…

_No_. There had to be a reason, there always was…time always had some sort of a plan and it was fascinating him to realise that he was still in the dark as to the reason why.

He _had_ to go back, because he needed answers…

The Tardis made its familiar wheeze and seconds later landed in Perivale, summer of '93.

* * *

Ace was unaware that a Tardis had landed in the park just beyond the pathway that led to a pond, where the trees were dark and boughs hung low and close together. It was not the Tardis belonging to the Professor, and she would have been curious about that fact, but as she was in the garden in the sunshine in a bikini soaking up the rays and not expecting her Doctor to return for a couple of days, she was happy to sit there as her skin slowly turned golden brown.

Her eyes where closed and her hair fanned out on the lawn as she smiled, feeling the sun making spirals of heat through her skin. She was twenty-three years old and life was good. It had been a long while since she had needed to fight any monsters, lately her travels with the Professor had been calm and uneventful, and that was all she needed to think about as she smiled with her eyes closed on the lawn as the sun shone down in the small garden of her rented ground floor flat.

She didn't want to think about the future or the past or anything, really – but she _did_ let her thoughts wander to a certain man who owned a police box and she smiled again as she thought of him and his dark eyes and the way they sparkled when he smiled. They could also grow _very_ dark, too – that was something she didn't want to think about. And she and him had sometimes clashed, mainly because he liked to manipulate situations. Being a Timelord and knowing so much was an advantage she did not share and his use of that knowledge, often without sharing his thoughts in advance, did make her feel shut out.

_But only sometimes._

She rolled over on her front and cool grass against hot skin felt soothing. Those rays were spiralling over her back and shoulders now. Some people said it was better to use sun cream, or even sun block because the sun could be bad for the skin. Ace didn't pay much attention to that, because she was young and words like _consequences_ were stored away for the unthinkable, distant days when she got older.

Her thoughts turned back to the Professor and she wondered if he thought of her while they were apart. Then she wondered what it would be like to sit beside him and slide her hand up his question mark jumper and between the buttons of his shirt, just to feel the quickening beat of his twin hearts.

Then she cancelled that thought – he would probably push her away and give her a stern lecture about crossing boundaries of friendship. He seemed to emphasise a lot on that, especially these days and she wasn't quite sure why. Her days of being a sweet innocent girl had been gone long ago and she was a young woman now, in her twenties and ready to get out there and grab life by the throat. Or the balls, or however she chose to grab it. She was unafraid to take chances.

_And yet it was different when it came to the Professor._

She was scared, she didn't like to admit it but she was scared of making a first move. Friendship as deep as theirs was to be cherished and it worried her to think a look or a touch or even a kiss, could crack the foundation of that bond.

Then Ace wondered, was their friendship not so strong if it could be broken by something so potentially wonderful?

What would that really say about her bond with him if all it took was a single rejected advance for him to walk away from her?

The sun was starting to burn her back.

She wondered if maybe she should have put on some sun cream, and then she got up, brushed grass from her legs and went back inside to shower and get changed, because she had definitely had enough sun for the day, and doing nothing but lying in the sun was making the questions in her head burn brightly, bright enough to make her lose sleep that night if she didn't take care and block out those thoughts. She hated having questions revolving around in her mind, especially when she could find no answers to silence them…

The shower stung her shoulders and she turned the water down to cool.

Then she got out and cautiously dried her skin and wondered if perhaps there was something in the theory about sunburn being dangerous – her shoulders were sore. She changed into a white lycra top and a pair of denim shorts and then sat down on the sofa in the front room and relished the sound of ice cubes touching as they slid together in lemonade as she tipped the glass and drank from it.

A cool breeze was coming in through the open windows and although it was only three in the afternoon, she was glad to be out of the sun. She relaxed on the sofa and glanced down at her tanned skin and decided it had been worth it, because a tan looked great on her in the summer, and summer didn't last forever…

_Nothing lasted forever. _

_All life ended eventually, it could be snuffed out in the blink of an eye…_

Ace caught her breath and sat up, catching her breath as she set down the glass and felt a chill pass through her that was too deep to blame on the ice in her drink.

She looked around the room, still shivering as she wondered where that thought had come from – it was as if another person had been sitting in the room and voiced the words aloud, yet the net curtains blew ghostly in the summer breeze and the silence confirmed she was quite alone.

Ace took in a deep breath and shook her head.

"Stop it!" she said aloud, but that chill was still present. It reminded her of a phrase, what was it…

Then she found it:

_Someone just walked over my grave._

She drew in a slow breath, wondering why she had just pictured a gravestone bearing her name, in the future and not as far off as she wanted it to be. She wondered why she was wondering if she would die young. It was a crazy thought that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

And then she heard a sound and got up. She listened, and then she heard it again, and then she hesitated, still feeling spooked by the thoughts that had come out of nowhere and affected her so deeply.

And then she heard that sound again, and it echoed through the flat.

Ace left the room, making her way down the hallway. She wasn't in the mood for visitors, but someone was at the door, and by the way they kept knocking, it sounded as if they had no intention of going away until she answered…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She opened the door. And then she stared at the man on her doorstep, she had never seen him before, yet he was looking at her intently, as if she ought to know him, or at least know what he was about to say.

"Yes?" she said, feeling slightly unnerved.

The man looked back at her hesitating, and he was not looking her up and down despite her skimpy clothing, he was just staring at her face and she wasn't sure if she ought to be glad about that or not - a stranger was on her doorstep, staring at her, and a crazy thought shot through her head that if she had a stalker, he was certainly an attractive one so perhaps she ought to be flattered… He was tall with greying hair and striking eyes, certainly handsome for an older guy, something she didn't want to think too much about, because he was a total stranger and still standing there saying nothing and staring at her face…

"Can I help you?" she asked cautiously.

He leaned against the frame of the open door, looking right at her and leaning a little closer. She caught a scent of cologne and her eyes briefly switched from his face to the open neck of the shirt he wore beneath a blue suit jacket.

She even liked the smell of him, and that thought made her face flush.

He was still staring at her.

"I said, can I help you?" she asked again.

He drew in a slow breath and his eyes were still fixed on hers.

"_Ace,"_ he said, _"It's me. It's the Doctor."_

Now it was her turn to stare back at him. He had spoken with a Scottish accent, reminding her of the Professor. But clearly, this was _not _the Professor…

"What?" she said in a hushed voice, "No…You're not the Doctor, not the Professor –"

"No, not now, not in this time and place, not in the true sense of the word, to you I'm a future regeneration," he told her, "I know my seventh incarnation dropped you off here for a few days, so you could spend some time at home – he was in the habit of doing that. I also know you used to work as a waitress - I met you in Iceworld on Svartos. To you it was a handful of earth years ago but to me, much time has gone by, _so_ much time…"

He straightened up, ran his fingers through his hair and drew in a sharp breath as a wave of emotion hit him without warning. He saw doubt in her eyes and he didn't want to dig too deep for the memories, because memories so far back, covered over by time, always hurt to pull out sharply, because they played over and over like yesterday when he let them loose.

"I _am_ the Doctor!" he insisted, "Please don't doubt me…let me prove it…"

Ace looked at him warily.

"If you're the Doctor you would know I own a baseball bat. And I keep it close where ever I go. So you'd better tell me the truth, because I know the Professor won't be back for two days…who are you really?"

Her tone had been accusing.

He searched his mind for proof, and then he snapped his fingers.

"I've got it! Listen to me –"

"There's nothing you can say to convince me!" she said sharply, "You're _not_ the Doctor! Get off my doorstep. I won't warn you again!"

And she reached behind the door and pulled out a metal baseball bat.

"I don't know who or what you really are," she said, "But I can more than handle taking you on…if it's the Doctor you're after, he's not here!"

And her grip on the bat tightened.

For a moment he dropped his gaze, searching to find the memory.

And then he looked at her intently and began to speak.

"_I told you there are worlds out there where the sky is burning."_

All aggression melted from her eyes as she continued to stare at him.

"And the sea's asleep and the rivers dream…"

She drew in a slow breath.

"_People made of smoke,"_ he said, "_And somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold…"_

And Ace dropped the bat as tears ran down her face.

She knew she had started to sob and then he had his arms around her, holding her protectively as she wept and wondered why she was weeping.

"It _is_ me," he said softly, "I swear to you, I'm the Doctor."

She drew in a shaken breath and looked up at him.

Ace blinked and took in another breath and didn't want him to let go, but they were standing on her doorstep and he was holding her and she felt as if she was home, like home was in his arms, where ever he was in time and space, what ever face he wore – he was her harbour from the storms of life, he was her safety, her rock…

She let go of him and wiped her eyes, stepping back and taking control of her emotions, at least on the surface.

"Come in," she whispered, and he crossed the threshold and she closed the door, said nothing and led him through to the front room, where she sat down heavily, still fighting to hold back tears as she wondered again why she wanted to cry.

* * *

The Doctor sat beside her on the sofa, gave her a moment to calm herself and then he spoke up.

"You don't know why you're crying, but I do and think you'll work it out for yourself in a minute. Just give it some thought."

And she turned and looked at him with that old familiar expression that told him she felt patronised.

"You're _still _treating me like a kid! Making me learn…I just…I don't understand and I'm heartbroken and…"

She blinked away tears and then drew in a breath and as she looked at him again, he saw it in her eyes: she had it now.

"_Of course I'm upset,"_ she whispered, _"Because you're who he becomes. That means one day I lose him. Am I right?"_

He tried to hide it but his thoughts were back in his seventh incarnation and their final goodbye when Ace had no clue he was not coming back for her, he thought about it and then banished the thought, but it was too late – she had seen it in his eyes.

"Oh no I _am_ right!" she said tearfully, "He's going to die!"

He waved his hand dismissively.

"No, no Ace - it's not quite like that. I regenerate. I only die in the sense that my old self is replaced with a new version – essentially I'm still me. But regeneration can temporarily wipe memories and sometimes they don't come back for a long time…a _very _long time… one day you _will _part with him, he simply won't come back. I can't say he _never _would have come back if the circumstances had been different, but he died traumatically and then he forgot you for a long time."

And then he frowned.

"Maybe that's why I'm here, because I remembered you… perhaps it's taken all this time, all these regenerations…"

"How many times have you regenerated?" she asked in a shocked voice.

"I'm number twelve," he replied, "My seventh life was a long time ago."

Ace was still shaken.

"He dies traumatically? What's that supposed to mean?"

"He will die," he replied, "But it doesn't happen yet."

And she put her face in her hands and cried again.

The Doctor gave a sigh and shook his head; this was not going well. He wondered if perhaps he had said too much, but then he guessed that he would get nowhere if he didn't share at least some of the facts with her.

"I can't really tell you any more about his death," he added, "Well, I say death but it's not the end, as you can see because I'm right here. He won't always be around, Ace. That's why I came to see you."

Ace wiped her eyes again and blinked away more tears.

"I don't understand," she said in a shaken voice, "You say he dies one day – and you're here, so that means he's going to regenerate anyway and I can't stop it from happening –"

"You can't argue with time," he told her, and then a sparkle came to his eyes.

"But you can change _some _of it. That is why I'm here, to put right something that didn't happen, that _should_ have happened."

She looked at him intently.

"What should have happened?"

And he drew in a deep breath and hoped for the best as he tried to set her destiny on an altered course.

"Do you love him?" he asked her, "Because he loves you. He won't come out and say it, but he does."

Her jaw dropped and then she flipped her long brown hair off her face and stared at him.

"No he doesn't!"

She sounded shocked.

"He does," he promised her, "I know, you think I wouldn't know? I was him, I can remember the ache in both his hearts every time he looked at you, Ace! It didn't happen at first, it was slow, it started to burn brighter and brighter as he saw you for the woman you'd become and he just couldn't say it to you. And he never did."

Then he briefly smiled.

"Please change this, because I've had enough painful memories in my lives and I could do with losing a few of them."

She fell silent as she thought of the Professor, and then her heart ached just as it always did as she thought of his face and his smile and his voice and the way his eyes sparkled.

"I do love him," she whispered, "Perhaps I always have. I've known it for sure for a long time, more than two years. But he won't cross that line and if I pushed it I could lose him."

"_One day you'll lose him anyway."_

"I can't stop it from happening?"

"No, but you can make the most of the time you have. It just takes a moment of courage. There are more living beings walking, flying and slithering around the galaxies with regret in their hearts than I can count. There's a lot of broken hearts out there. You don't have to join them."

"But I can't," she said quietly, "I just can't do that, he would never forgive me. He would be so angry."

Mischief sparkled in his eyes.

"I know him better than you do. Believe me when I say he would be angry, _very_ angry…right before he kissed you, and then he would turn that anger into something else. You probably wouldn't even make it to the bedroom, my bet is you'd end up somewhere between here and just beyond the living room door, most likely consummating your love on the hallway carpet –"

"Doctor!"

He laughed softly and his eyes sparkled again.

"Or perhaps if it happened in the Tardis, he might just have you on the floor by the console. I hope he doesn't knock himself out on the controls while he's at it. I could be rather clumsy at times back then. But I know I would have had you on the floor and that's not coming from me, it's _me_ recalling _him_."

She knew she was blushing as she smiled.

"Not coming from you at all?"

"No," he said, and briefly looked away towards the net curtains that shifted in the breeze, because he hated lying to one who had been so close to him in another life, and he also knew she was good at spotting lies and he didn't want to get caught out.

Ace smiled again and felt her sadness fading away. Everything he had just said had pushed aside her fears for the future as she thought of the possibility that _something_ could change.

"I don't know…it sounds like a big risk to take."

"The Ace I recall was unafraid of risk."

She shook her head.

"But I couldn't risk losing him."

"_But eventually, you lose him anyway."_

The Doctor had made a statement that brought tears to her eyes again as she thought about an outcome that couldn't be changed.

She got up from the sofa and walked over to the window, pulling the net curtain aside to take in some sweet summer air as she tried to clear her head.

"I wish you wouldn't say that. Don't remind me. I'll think about it every time I look at him."

His hand was on her shoulder. She had not heard him get up but now he was standing behind her as the breeze blew in and carried with it the scent of summer, his hand was resting lightly on her and the more she thought about it, the more she wished he would keep it there, because he was not the Professor, but he was still the Doctor, just in a future form and his touch was a great comfort as she thought of how the Professor was destined to die.

"What's the point of trying for more than I have now if I lose him anyway?" she asked quietly, and she turned her head, and met with the gaze of the Twelfth Doctor and he answered her honestly.

"I have a Tardis," he said, "I can go anywhere, any time – and time is mine to play with because I'm a Timelord. But you're human. For you time travels one way only – onwards. Don't waste a minute of it, life can be short."

Ace drew in a sharp breath, shivering as that chill shifted over her flesh once more.

"I had a strange feeling before you knocked on the door," she said in a hushed voice, "Something about me dying young…it made me go cold to my bones."

The Doctor guessed Ace must have picked up on his thoughts as he approached the house - perhaps because she was so closely linked to his Seventh incarnation, and now another… she had sensed the future, albeit for a brief moment.

"Why?" she was asking him, "Why would I think such a scary thought?"

And the Doctor shrugged.

" I have no idea," he replied, "But I do think you ought to tell your Professor how you feel, just remember the time you still have together and how it could be so different. I don't know what else to say to you."

"_I think you do."_ Her voice hardened as she met his gaze.

He knew that look – it took him back to another life as he recalled how determined Ace could be when she wanted answers.

"I'm not being like him. I'm not hiding anything from you, I'm not trying to make you feel shut out!"

"_Then tell me something,"_ she said, _"When does the Professor die?"_

And the Doctor's eyes widened as he thought about the risk he would run if he told her everything. That kind of knowledge could rip apart the future…

* * *

Silence hung between them as she fixed him with determination blazing in her eyes.

And the Doctor felt caught out and started to wish he had never listened to the pain in his twin hearts and come back here, beckoned by nostalgia and the ache for an old, unrequited love.

"You know I can't tell you that," he said in a low voice, "It's too much information and could prove dangerous. One day he leaves you behind and on his travels he will die and regenerate and the death is traumatic. I can't tell you why or when. I can't risk the timeline like that."

"Of course you can't, you're just like him - holding back from me!" she said bitterly, and she turned away and walked out of the room.

The Doctor stood alone as the summer breeze blew the nets and he gave a heavy sigh.

Coming back here had stirred up memories of a lifetime lived long ago. Much had happened in between, but being here in Perivale and seeing her face, being close enough to catch the scent of her skin, was enough to stir up old longings that he knew he had no place thinking about.

Then he heard a door slam, and he left the front room and walked up the hallway.

"Ace?"

"Go away!"

Her voice had sounded loud and clear from behind her closed bedroom door.

He stood outside and knocked politely.

"I came back here to help. And I _don't _appreciate you locking a door to shut me out. I an easily remove the hinges, I have a sonic screwdriver…but I'm pretty certain a practical girl like you has a regular screwdriver somewhere around here and that would so do the job just as well. Open the door or I'm taking it down!"

There was a brief pause, and then the lock slid back and Ace opened the door. She glared at him as their eyes met.

"How can you tell me he dies and then refuse me the rest of the details? I have to know!"

"You should be thankful I bothered to come back here and tell you anything," he said sharply, "I didn't have to do it. I could have ignored you and –"

"What? Ignored _me_, what does that mean?"

And the Doctor knew at once he had been foolish to think anything got past Ace; the girl missed nothing.

"I sensed you through time and space and then I remembered you clearly, that's all you need to know and that is all I can explain."

The look in his eyes hardened.

"There _is_ no more to explain, Ace. So shut up about the future and think about precious time you have now. _Use it wisely_."

Her eyes widened.

"Wisely? Because I can't have it back when it's gone?"

"Correct."

She left the door open and went back into the bedroom, taking a seat on a small sofa by the window.

The Doctor followed her in and sat beside her, but she just turned her head and looked out at the view of the garden beyond.

"_I think of him all the time when he's not with me," _she said softly, and in that moment the Doctor knew he had taken a step closer to the truth that lie in her heart; her tone had been soft, reminding him how she had often hid behind a brash exterior in the early days of their travels back in his Seventh life, but as he got to know her, those wall had come tumbling down and he had seen the real Ace, and this was who he was seeing now – the girl with the dreamy eyes touched by sadness that spoke in soft tones as she watched the lower limbs of a weeping willow dip into a pond at the bottom of the garden, _that _was the real Ace…

"How does he die?" she said in a hushed voice, keeping her sights fixed on the bottom of the garden.

"You know I can't tell you that."

"But he's not alone, tell me he doesn't die alone."

And the Doctor said nothing in reply.

Ace turned back to him, and tears streaked her face again.

"He's all alone when it happens? No one told hold him, to be there for him?"

He looked into her eyes and all the longing that had belonged far off in an old lifetime filled his hearts unbearably.

"Ace, I remember everything. This is _difficult _for me…"

She caught hold of his hand and gripped it tightly and he fought back tears as his hearts raced at how familiar her touch had become, so familiar in a way that made him ache for everything he had not been able to say in another lifetime.

"Of course it is," she said as her tears stopped flowing, "Because you are him. You _are_ the Professor, you used to be him, and a part of you is _still_ him -"

"Part of all my lives stay with me," he replied, prising his hand from her grip, "And this isn't about me. I'm regeneration number Twelve. Life number Seven was a long time ago. Don't get too fond of me, Ace. I'm _not _the one you want."

And then he fell silent as a heavy sense of guilt began to weigh down his twin hearts:

Perhaps this was about him, perhaps it had been from the moment he had heard her call the name of his old regeneration – stirring up memories long buried, making him feel he had unfinished business here…

But if that was the case, he wasn't going to tell her.

That thought made him wonder if a part of his Seventh life still lingered about inside him, because he was certainly manipulating everything, and Ace had no clue…

"What?" she asked as he briefly smiled.

"Nothing," he replied, "I was just thinking back. I was wondering how often you looked at the Professor and thought about him as more than a friend, I bet you did that so many times you've lost count."

That soft look was back in her eyes, and it pleased him to know the barriers were finally broken down, but at the same time he wondered if this had been a bad idea - the more he looked at her, the more the past reminded him of how much she had meant to him in another life, and those feelings were shifting into his own hearts, he was looking at her and thinking about taking her in his arms now. That was _not _why he had come back here, but he knew it wouldn't take much to persuade her, because one look in her eyes told him the feeling was mutual.

He felt sure he would be taking advantage of a difficult situation if he followed those instincts – as a Timelord he wanted to do all he could to set right a bad situation, or at least bring some happiness into an otherwise empty past for two people who ought to have been together.

_And at the same time he knew if she placed her hand on him one more time, he would also be a sexually aroused Timelord, and the fact that he was a Timelord would have to take a back seat because he was also a man, and in this unique situation of visiting a lost love from an old lifetime, much emotion had been stirred up._

_His defences were getting low…_

Ace smiled as she looked at him.

"I've always wanted to put both my hands on his chest and feel his hearts beating."

"Then you should do it," he told her, "To him, I mean – not to me."

"I wouldn't mind doing that to you!" she said, and her face flushed as she smiled again. And he laughed nervously. A silent thought ran through his mind that sex was on the cards and he ought to step back from the situation right now, but he knew he would do no such thing, because he didn't want to, and because putting the alien Timelord part of himself aside, he was a man and he was aroused by her, and it felt too good to be this close to back off now…

And then something slipped into his mind, and it made perfect sense.

"I can tell you like me. If you can flirt with me, you can flirt with him. We _are_ the same person, remember that."

"So if I kiss you, I could kiss him too."

The Doctor smiled and his eyes sparkled.

"I should be walking away right about now," he said in a bemused tone, "But I don't want to - unless you want me to."

She shook her head.

"You're him," she said softly, "And I _want_ to kiss him."

He leaned forward and their lips touched.

Ace welcomed that kiss with hunger, wrapping her arms around him as he slid his hands down her waist and his kiss grew deeper and he took over. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled back breathlessly to look into his eyes, and then she smiled but said nothing as she kissed him again.

For the Doctor, holding Ace after many other lifetimes felt like a dream was coming true. But then he remembered she was _not_ his to love – she was the girl of another man's dreams - the girl of his Seventh life's dreams, and while a fragment of him that remained from that other life was overwhelmed with joy to be holding her, this Twelfth Doctor was not.

He let her go, and she met his gaze with disappointment.

"I really shouldn't make this complicated," he said, "I just wanted to come back here and try and make a few small changes. Perhaps I've succeeded now, I'm not sure yet. But I know I have no right to be doing this."

"But you're him. And I want to feel your twin hearts beating, I want to know what it's like."

"Then ask your Professor when he gets back!"

"But he's already here, sort of," Ace said softly, and warmth shone in her eyes as she shifted closer.

Suddenly he didn't want to push her away because the effort seemed too great.

Her hand was sliding between the buttons of his shirt, her palm brushing against his skin, and as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want her to stop now. _He knew he was past the point where walking away was still an option…_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Feel that?"

He drew in a slow breath and shifted slightly on the sofa, wishing he wasn't so aroused as he looked into her eyes.

Ace had opened his shirt and both her hands were on his chest and as she felt the two hearts beating in unison, a look of wonder came to her eyes.

"I've thought about it so many times, feeling both hearts…I've thought about –"

"Laying your head on his chest and closing your eyes and listening to the sound of twin heartbeats?"

He smiled, and as his hands gently closed over her wrists, he shifted them away from his chest. He was sure she would never know the willpower he had called upon to make her stop. He had wanted her hands to wander all over his body, he had wanted her lips to trace a path of kisses down his exposed skin, all the way down and then…

_No_. The Doctor sat up straight and hastily closed the buttons on his shirt.

"You can do that to your Professor," he said quickly, thinking about the Tardis, and Clara and his own life in his new regeneration, as he reminded himself sharply that he had no right to be getting closer to Ace, not here and now, not in _this_ incarnation, to do that would be utterly selfish and could even push Ace away from the idea of changing her own path in life…

He saw disappointment in her eyes.

"Sorry," he told her, "But I didn't come here for that. I came here to help. I could lay you down on that bed over there and give you something you'll never forget but it won't help you or him. I _don't_ want to make things worse."

Confusion clouded her eyes.

"_Worse?_ But I'm not even with the Professor, I probably never will be –"

"He _is_ going to die," the Doctor stated, looking into her eyes as his tone darkened, "He _will _die and regenerate and you will never see him again. That won't change! But you can change what happens in between. It's up to you, Ace. You could make a move on me - you can do the same to him. Tell him how you feel before it's too late."

His words shocked all warmth and amorous thoughts from her system as she looked back at him and saw truth in his eyes.

"I don't want to lose him."

"_But you will."_

Ace sat there deep in thought as the Doctor stood up. She said nothing and he looked around the room, caught sight of her inviting bed and looked back at Ace again, trying not to think about what could have been on offer.

"I have to go now," he told her, "Think about what I said, please remember you can't have these days back again, and life can be short. Take care, Ace."

And then he walked out of the bedroom.

Ace got up and went to the doorway in time to see him reach the front door.

He glanced back at her.

"I'll see you again," he promised, "I'm not done with this business yet, because I know it's unfinished, I can feel it."

And then he left and closed the door behind him, leaving Ace standing alone in the hallway.

* * *

As she stood there she thought about the warmth of his skin and the feel of two hearts beating in unison.

_He was the Doctor. Not her Doctor, not the Professor. But he was another version of him…_

_He was number Twelve. _

The Professor was number Seven.

_That was a lot of lifetimes gone by, many before he had remembered her and come back…_

His words had stayed with her:

_The Professor was going to die. _

Ace went back down the hallway. The flat felt strangely silent now the other Doctor had left and she was alone with thoughts of all he had told her.

She went into the front room and over to the shelf above the fireplace. The clock on the wall was ticking gently. It was measuring time calmly, seconds into minutes, minutes into hours, days passing by...

She reached out and took a framed photo off the shelf, it was a picture of her and the Professor standing together at Christmas time, the picture had been taken here, at the flat when she had invited a few people over and had a party. In the picture he was next to her, he had his arm around her shoulder and his eyes were sparkling. She smiled as she looked at his picture, fondly running her fingers down his image as felt a rush of love for him. He was wearing his question mark jumper and his umbrella was in his hand. He never went anywhere without that umbrella…

Ace was still smiling at the picture.

Suddenly the clock on the wall was ticking louder, the sound filling the room as it measured the passing of time.

And then it hit her as tears blurred her vision and pain shot through her heart, knocking the breath from her lungs:

_The Professor was going to die. _

_She didn't know when or why but it would happen._

_She was going to lose him._

_Nothing lasted forever. Life was too short sometimes…_

_Life was too short to not dare to take a chance._

_She knew it now, she loved him and she had to tell him before it was too late…_

* * *

The Twelfth Doctor was in his Tardis.

He stood there listening to a gentle hum that reminded him the Tardis was alive and his constant companion.

And it knew what he was up to.

He cast a glance around at the glowing walls and spoke in a low voice:

"I know what you're thinking. And I walked away, I didn't seduce her, I'm not stupid! I know she's not mine."

And he sensed the Tardis considering all he had said.

"If she and my Seventh life share what they _should_ have shared, her future will change. I'm doing this for her, _not_ for me!"

And the Tardis continued to gently hum, and he felt as if it was deciding on something but not allowing him to know its opinion on the matter.

"Don't judge me!" he said sharply, "I'm _not_ involved for selfish reasons, I'm not, I just want to help her."

And then he fell silent as his own doubts nagged silently at his conscience as he wondered if his statement had been untrue…

"I've done all I can."

He turned to the console and reached for the keypad, setting co ordinates to go back to Coal Hill School so he could meet up with Clara, because he needed to talk to someone and even if she did react in her usual clear and very direct manner, he was sure he would rather have a discussion about his motives with her instead of the Tardis, because he need real company, someone he could reach out and touch.

He felt bloody lonely, he had felt that way since walking away from Ace and the feeling disturbed him, it was as if reaching back to the past, stirring up memories of another life, had been somewhat akin to poking a hornet's nest with a stick. Regrets felt fresh as yesterday and that pain kept on stinging.

He set the co ordinates and activated the controls. And the ship lurched sharply, wheezing and groaning as he clung to the console.

And then the Tardis landed, and the Doctor let go of the console, and then he looked around the room in confusion:

_The co ordinates had changed. The Tardis had changed them._

"What's this about?" he wondered aloud, as the Tardis quietly hummed, giving no clue as to why he had been sent back to Perivale, two days after he had left…

He wagged a finger at the Tardis console.

"Naughty," he said darkly, "Don't play games with me, I'm _not_ impressed."

And then he walked towards the door, still wondering why the Tardis had altered course.

* * *

On stepping outside, he knew at once why he had been brought back here:

He had landed once again beneath the shade of the woodland trees, and just a short distance away stood another Tardis.

Suddenly, the Twelfth Doctor didn't feel so annoyed at the actions of his own Tardis, because he knew who the other blue box belonged to:

_The Seventh Doctor._

He walked over to the other Tardis and drew his key from his pocket and slid it into the lock, smiling as the door opened. Every Doctor had their own version of the Tardis as they flew in their own time zones – but there was only one Tardis key, owned by all of them at the same time and any Doctor could unlock another's Tardis…

He stepped inside and saw the small white room, the old console and the roundels that covered the walls. It brought back a flood of memories and he smiled again as he walked over to the console and ran his hand over it with affection.

And then he looked up, casting another glance around the room as he wondered where his former self had gone.

"Doctor?" he called out, but got no reply. He turned from the console and begun to make his way down the long winding Tardis corridor, in search of the Seventh Doctor.

* * *

His memory of the old Tardis layout had come back to him quickly; as he walked down the corridor the Doctor thought again about his own Tardis and why it had chosen to bring him back here. It all made sense now, his talk with Ace was not enough – he needed to speak to his former self to clarify the situation…

Suddenly the lights went out and the Doctor staggered back, hitting the wall of the corridor as another time and place rushed at him:

_The road up ahead was filled with smoke and fog mixed together._

_Ace was older, not the girl he had spoken to back at the flat, she had to be at least thirty now._

_She was on her knees at the roadside and firelight flickered from burning vehicles further along the road._

And the Doctor could see it all as if he was standing right behind her watching the scene unfold; time was showing him something….

_Ace was kneeling at the side of the Seventh Doctor. His coat was ripped and he looked battered and bruised as he lay at the side of the road still as death. She reached out a shaking hand and swept it over his dark hair, but he did not respond as she gave a sob and said Professor._

_"Please," she said tearfully, "Don't die, please hold on…I never stopped loving you, please…don't die…"_

_And she took off her coat. The fog that hung in the air mixed with smoke was freezing but she took off her coat oblivious to the cold and draped it over him, covering him up to his shoulders as she tried to keep him warm._

_Sirens were wailing in the distance heading for the scene of the fire._

_Ace took hold of his hand and gripped it tightly._

_"You can't leave us now," she said tearfully, "We love you so much…"_

_And then as she knelt there holding his hand she turned her head and looked at a little boy who stood there with wide dark eyes as he looked from the Doctor to Ace._

_"Is he dead?" he asked in a frightened voice._

_"No," Ace said firmly, "No Nathan, Daddy is not dead, he's going to be all right… he has to be…"_

_And then as the sound of a helicopter grew louder, she looked up, her hair blowing back as the wind picked up._

_"Who called UNIT?" she wondered._

And the Twelfth Doctor blinked, and then he was back in the bright corridor of the Seventh Doctor's Tardis and the scene of the crash had left him.

He stayed there for a moment, leaning against the wall as he took some slow breaths, feeling shaken by all he had seen.

The Seventh Doctor was now at the scene of the accident in 2000, badly hurt while Ace sat beside him sobbing.

He wondered if this would cause him to regenerate sooner into his Eighth life, but had seen no sign of that happening.

What had shaken him up the most was the boy at the roadside. Ace had said the Seventh Doctor was his Daddy…

The Twelfth Doctor drew in a slow breath.

"I've certainly caused a ripple in the timeline!" he claimed, "What the hell is going on?"

Then he quickened his pace up the winding Tardis corridor.

"Doctor!" he called out, and this time he called the name of his former self with great urgency.

* * *

The Seventh Doctor had not been in the Tardis because he had already left, keen to call on Ace and ask her if she'd missed him. He always did that, every time he left her for few days and then went back, just because he knew she would smile and he would see such fondness in her eyes as she said yes…

He hurried up the path and knocked on her door.

On getting no reply, he frowned as he wondered why she was not there to greet him, she knew what time he was calling for her. It was most unlike Ace to simply not be there…

He went around the back and opened the gate, saw her on the patio on a sun lounger and smiled, closing the gate quietly behind him. As he went up to her, he noticed she was fast asleep and not in her bikini, just a summer top and denim cut down shorts, which was odd, as she usually wore a bikini when subjecting her flawless skin to harsh sun rays, a habit he had warmed her against many a time, but warning Ace not to sunbathe was about as pointless as asking her not make up cans of nitro nine…

Even as his shadow fell over her, Ace did not wake. Then he noticed her face looked tear stained, and that she had fallen asleep clutching a photo of the two of them, the photo that was usually on the shelf in the front room…

"This is odd…" he said in a low voice, and he leaned over her and softly said her name.

As his voice stirred her from sleep she opened her eyes, and then her eyes ached and she remembered why:

Since the visit from the other Doctor and learning the truth about the short time they had together, she had repeatedly broken down in tears… The pain filled her heart again and as she looked up at her Professor, Ace blinked away more tears.

He looked worried, but asked the same question he always did:  
"Did you miss me?"

Ace looked up at him with glassy eyes.

Then she sat up and nodded her head.

_"Yes, and I never want to leave you again,"_ she said in a voice broken by tears, and then the Doctor stood there deeply confused as Ace got off the sun lounger, stood up and put her arms around him and then wept against his shoulder.

* * *

Moments later the Seventh Doctor was sitting with Ace out of the sun, at her kitchen table. He had taken off his hat and placed it, and his umbrella on the seat of an empty chair, remembering if he got up and sat down again not to sit on the other chair, because he would squash his hat. Then he had looked intently at Ace and asked her a question.

"What went wrong while I was away?" and then his eyes darkened as he added, "If someone is responsible for this I'll make them _very_ sorry for it!"

She shook her head, wiped her eyes and pushed her long hair off her face, and then she turned her head and looked at him sadly.

_"I realised how much you mean to me. And how I would feel if I lost you."_

There was a brief, startled look in the Doctor's eyes and then he laughed nervously.

"I try not to think about losing me too…the universe can be a dangerous place, but I've got by so far…what made you think like that?"

Ace frowned, looking down at the table as she picked at an old gouge in the woodwork caused by chopping some cheese for a sandwich whilst drunk after last year's Christmas party. She spoke slowly, cautiously, without meeting his gaze.

_"A man called here. He said he was you."_

She knew her Professor was looking at her intently now, she could feel his dark eyes boring into her as a thousand questions flew around his head, but she still kept her sights lowered as she focussed on the table.

"He told me what you said to me once, about how somewhere, the tea's getting cold. He remembered. He remembered a lot about me. He said he was your Twelfth incarnation, and that he came back to help because he suddenly remembered me and who I was and… he told me some stuff about you."

She reluctantly met the Doctor's gaze and sure enough, his dark eyes were full of anger just as she expected them to be.

"A future version of _me_ came back here to meddle in _my_ private business?" he fumed, "What's he like, this new regeneration?"

Ace drew in a breath, deciding not emphasise on the attractiveness of the man.

"Tall, greying hair, intense eyes, accent like yours…"

"Good looking?" he wondered.

Surprise registered in her eyes.

"You know him?"

"I just knew you wanted to leave that part out," he replied, and playfully touched the tip of her nose.

She saw amusement in his eyes and she briefly smiled, but then her smile faded and she felt trapped, because she knew the Professor would not leave this subject alone until he knew everything...

He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms.

"Well, he must have had a good reason to come back and speak to you," he replied, "So what was it, what are you scared to tell me?"

Her eyes widened.

"I'm not –"

"You are," he stated, "I can see it in your eyes. I know I'm a little fella who can have a bit of a temper on me sometimes, but Ace, you know me well enough by now. There's nothing you could say to make me angry, not you, sweetheart."

She caught her breath. He had never called her sweetheart before, and it made her heart ache for him all the more. Then he unfolded his arms and pushed his chair in closer to the table, shifting it closer to her seat, and then he placed his hand over hers gently.

"It's all right," he promised, "You can tell me. I'll understand. Just talk to me, Ace."

His voice was so soft and kind and suddenly it seemed so much easier to tell him everything, to explain why she had been crying over him as if her heart was already broken.

"He told me he came back to put something right, he said we don't have much time together and I should make some changes…make the most of everything…"

He looked at her intently as he silently considered all she had said.

"What's that supposed to mean, we don't have much time?"

She drew in a shaky breath and hoped she could hold back her tears long enough to explain without breaking down again.

"He told me you die eventually. I don't know when or how, but he said we ought to make the most of the time we have left together. He knew some things…"

The Doctor's grip on her hand tightened as his voice darkened.

"What things? What have I been saying about me, because I don't like the sound of this!"

She gave a sigh of despair.

"There you go already – you're starting…I knew you would –"

"Starting?" he snapped as he let go of her hand, "Of _course_ I'm starting! I'm getting _very_ riled at the thought that another version of me has taken time out of their own busy regeneration to come and meddle in mine!"

_"He said you was going to die!"_

Tears were filling her eyes. Seeing her so distressed, and now as he finally took in what she had just said, his anger was wiped out.

"When?" he asked in a hushed voice.

She shook her head.

"He couldn't tell me, he said he didn't want to risk the timeline. And he said not yet, but one day. We still have time."

Once again the Seventh Doctor felt utterly confused.

"Time for what?"

Ace hesitated. Then she remembered the words of the other Doctor, about how living beings all over the galaxy had broken hearts full of regret, how there was so much regret in all the worlds, and that she did not have to join them, because all she needed was a moment of courage…

"Ace?" he said, "I asked you what you meant, time for what?"

She looked into his eyes.

_"Time for one moment of courage,"_ she said quietly, and then she leaned closer to him and their lips touched.

* * *

They were kissing.

Ace was kissing her Professor and at first it was a soft, lips-touching moment and he didn't mind at all. Then her kiss deepened, into what he considered a _proper_ kiss, and his twin hearts fluttered in panic:

_This was Ace._

_Ace who had met him on Svartos when she was barely a woman, Ace who had stayed by his side through so many tough times over the last few years..._

_This was the young woman he dreamed about, and the dreams were not even dirty ones…most of the time. They were mostly heart achingly romantic and the kind of stuff he would never admit to._

_And now he was kissing her, he was putting his arms around her and returning her kisses with passion that was about to slide out of control._

_He was kissing her at last, he was kissing Ace…_

"No!"

He pulled away sharply and stood up as anger sparked in his eyes.

She looked stunned for a moment, and then she stood up too, the chair scraping back loudly behind her as she looked at him with a confused expression.

"Don't do that, don't push me away! I _know_ you feel the same!"

"He told you that, did he?" he replied, feeling certain another version of himself wouldn't have the nerve to do such a thing.

"Yes he did." Ace confirmed, and the Doctor's eyes widened in shock.

"What…what exactly did he say?"

"That you love me as much as I love you and we shouldn't fight it, we should let it happen."

That angry look was back in his eyes as he reached for his hat and put it on quickly, and then he snatched up his closed umbrella.

_"I'll kill him!"_ he fumed, _"Bastard had no right to do that, it's MY business, not his! I bet he's still here, hanging around to see what happens...just wait till I get my hands on him!"_

"But Professor –"

Her words were lost on him as he stormed out of the flat and slammed the door loudly.

Ace stood in the kitchen wondering if she ought to cry again, but just as tears stung her eyes, hope sparked inside her heart…

Of _course_ he was angry, because it was true, he _did_ love her…he loved her and he didn't want anyone else to know.

He did love her!

Ace smiled as joy shone through her tears and she put a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob.

_He did love her, he really did…_

* * *

It didn't take the Seventh Doctor long to reach his Tardis.

Then he saw a second Tardis nearby, but on noticing the door to his own was ajar, his eyes narrowed and he walked quickly over to the door and pushed it open.

_"Oi,"_ he said in a low voice as he stepped into the Tardis, _"Who do you think you are to come here and meddle in my life?"_

And the tall man in the blue suit who had been leaning against the console deep in thought turned around.

"I'm you, I'm you many regenerations from now," he said calmly, "Nice to meet you Seven, I'm Twelve. And before you start boiling up into a rage, you and Ace both have a handful of years left before you meet your ends in different ways, and that's why I'm here, to try and make your time together happier. I forgot her after I regenerated. But I soon remembered her again when I heard her call out to me through time and space. I don't want to live with the pain of your mistakes, I already have enough regrets and I've no room for more baggage. _That's_ why I'm here."

The Seventh Doctor stared at him.

"How very selfish of you to manipulate us to save yourself sad old memories."

And the other Doctor just looked back at him, waiting for all he had said to sink in.

Then his Seventh incarnation stared at him, his face paled and he drew in a shallow breath.

_"Ace dies?"_

He nodded.

"Big road accident when she's thirty. But you were long gone by then, you leave her some time next year because you can't bear to hold back your feelings any more, so you just leave and you don't come back. You could have had several more earth years with her before your regeneration, but you threw that chance away. You regretted it and _I_ have to live with that misery. _Thanks a lot!_"

The Seventh Doctor saw the accusing look in his eyes and all trace of anger melted away.

"If you know all that, you also know I couldn't bring myself to tell her how I felt. And now she's crying over me because you told her I regenerate at some point, she's heartbroken!"

A crafty smile appeared on the face of the other Doctor.

"And she also knows you love her. You just proved it by storming over here to have it out with me. You did that because you didn't want anyone to expose your secret. But you're the one who did that, you just did it all by yourself. And she misses nothing. Ace knows you love her."

"What do I do now?"

The Twelfth Doctor gave a weary sigh as he looked at his Seventh incarnation.

"Well if it was me I'd go straight back round that flat and – no, I won't be graphic, you'll only accuse me of fancying her and then get aggressive all over again. Just use your common sense, Doctor. She loves you, she knows you love her and she's waiting for you."

The Seventh Doctor paused for a moment, and then as a spark of hope shone in his eyes and he started to smile, old regrets that had been weighing down the twin hearts of his Twelfth regeneration lifted. As the weight lifted, he smiled back at his Seventh incarnation.

"I've got a good feeling about this," he said optimistically.

But the joy soon faded from the Seventh Doctor's eyes.

"I _will_ go back to Ace," he replied, and then his voice darkened, _"But first I need to talk to you. I need to know about her death and mine. I need to know everything…"_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Tardis was emitting a low hum. It was much lower than the sound the doctor was aware of in his own Police box, and it made him feel as if his Seventh incarnation's Tardis was holding back from him, quietly observing as the conversation began to unfold.

"You know I can't take that chance," he said, "If I told you when you die, when your life number seven ends, what are you going to do about it, try and change the outcome?"

The Seventh Doctor looked him in the eye and answered without hesitation.

"You ought to know my answer," he said darkly, "You used to be me a few lifetimes back – so your argument against is invalid."

The Twelfth Doctor's eyes fired up with anger as he glared down at the shorter man in the question mark jumper who stood before him.

"I remember I could be a shady, devious bastard when I wanted to be. I was manipulative, secretive - I remember that much. Don't think you can talk me around into doing what you want, because it won't happen!"

He had spoken sharply, his intense eyes were shaded with a darkness of his own now, but the Seventh Doctor's own gaze was unwavering.

"You won't give in and I won't give up."

"You can ask until the sun that lights this planet burns out, I'll still refuse to tell you."

The Seventh Doctor's eyes narrowed as his voice lowered.

"You're only here to ease your own conscience, you don't care about your past, you just want to get shot of mine!"

The Doctor leaned closer. He drew in a slow breath as he held his anger back and spoke again.

"But it's _not_ my conscience, it's yours. _You_ are the one who made the mistakes and lived with regret. I'm the one stuck with carrying old baggage!"

"_That baggage will get much lighter if you tell me everything."_

The Twelfth Doctor was still looking at him angrily.

"I used to be you. It doesn't matter how long ago; I still know this old part of me that I see in you. I _know_ I would have used that information to save my own life. If you do that, the whole timeline could fall apart. So much could change it could be catastrophic!"

The Seventh Doctor had the ghost of a smile on his face that worried him.

"What's so funny?"

"That you're talking to me as if we're on opposite sides. I'm _you_ a few regenerations a go, we _are_ the same person." Then his smile faded and he added, "You owe me a bit more _trust_, Doctor."

The Twelfth Doctor stepped back, looking thoughtfully at his other self.

"Maybe," he replied, "But I can't be sure I can trust you. I know you change her future because I saw it, the Tardis showed me – she doesn't die because you save her but I think you lose your own life in the process."

"I'm not surprised, I'd do anything for Ace. I'd certainly give my life for her if I had to."

He had said that without hesitation, and as he looked at him he knew he was telling the truth – the Seventh Doctor's love for Ace was deep, so deep it had no end, he still felt it there in his own hearts, a love that had become forever imprinted on his soul, to last through every regeneration, still there, as if she had signed her name inside both hearts and hidden the signature away.

"For one who hides his feelings so well, they certainly run deep."

The Seventh Doctor smiled.

"Still waters always do."

And as he turned over all he knew about his Seventh incarnation's outcome, the Doctor gave a heavy sigh. He had weighed it up and he knew he had to at least partly trust this other version of himself, because there was no other way. The Tardis had brought him back here, planned this meeting… knowing that was enough to persuade him to take a risk. That and the fact that Doctor number Seven could be very persuasive and determined…

"One day you take a journey in the Tardis, it's a necessary journey. You go alone. That's when you die. Something goes wrong and you die, you regenerate and after that you forget much about this life, you forget for a long time. You forget her."

The Seventh Doctor thought for a moment, and then he nodded.

"Okay, I get that part. I have no choice when the time comes. Now tell me about Ace, she's more important."

And as he heard him say those words, he breathed a relieved sigh – yes,he could _definitely _trust Seven, because he wasn't as concerned with his own death as he had expected him to be, knowing Ace was in danger had wiped out all fears for his own safety.

"I think you can change this," he told him, "Ace dies in an accident in the year 2000. I can give you the place and date and time. But I'm hoping you will be there to save her anyway, because you are going to stay with her this time, am I right?"

The Seventh Doctor looked back at him, and he caught a flicker of apprehension in his eyes.

"I'm thinking about taking her in my arms and I can't remember the last time I felt sonervous…I haven't felt like this for centuries!"

The Doctor smiled.

"You should drop that dark, manipulative veneer more often. I'm actually starting to warm to you."

The Seventh Doctor briefly smiled back at him.

_"Just tell me what I need to know."_

And the Doctor began to explain, he told him every detail of that day as history had first played it out, and the Seventh Doctor listened, and as he explained, he felt relieved to find he still asked nothing about the circumstances of his own demise.

* * *

A short while later, the Doctor left the past and his Seventh life behind, leaving the brightly lit Tardis and making his way back through the woodland. When he reached his own police box he went inside and closed the door, breathing a heavy sigh, and as the vast interior of the Tardis greeted him with its glowing walls and wide console and familiar hum, he looked around the room and smiled.

"It wasn't easy, but thank you," he said, "I know why you did that. Things are about to change..."

And then he set the co ordinates to return to the future, where Clara was about to leave work and he would soon be meeting her. He pictured her face in his mind and despite the weight that lingered in his hearts, he felt certain some time in her company would be all he needed to lift out the pain of old memories of another lifetime that were about to be rewritten for the better.

The Tardis wheezed and groaned, and then finally left Ace and old memories far behind.

* * *

The Seventh Doctor had stood alone in his Tardis for some time thinking over all he had learned.

Then he turned his thoughts back to Ace, who knew his secret and was waiting for him, and he left the Tardis and made his way back through the woodland, trying to ignore how nervous he felt as he approached the street that led to her front door.

When he had finally stopped walking and thinking and trying to ignore his nervousness, he pushed open her gate, went up the path and rang the doorbell.

Then he had no more time to feel nervous, because she answered right away. Her tears were gone and so had the sadness that had shaded her eyes. She smiled warmly at him.

"I'd better come in," he said, "I've got some explaining to do…"

And Ace said nothing, she just stepped back, opened the door wider, and he went inside.

She closed the front door and he stood there holding his umbrella in both hands as he fiddled with the question mark handle and his dark eyes darted nervously from her to the floor and then back to her again.

"You're right," he said softly, "I do…love you, I mean. If that's okay with you, if you don't mind…"

And he smiled hopefully.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think you felt the same way."

She started to smile again.

"You got so angry," she said softly, "So very angry and right after that I knew why."

Her eyes were sparkling and her face was glowing with happiness. He stepped closer and looked into her eyes. Suddenly the thought of taking her in his arms did not fill him with uncertainty; she felt the same way, she loved him, he could see it in her eyes and he wondered why he had never spotted it so clearly before.

"I want to take you in my arms and fall on to the carpet and – no, I can't just…"

He looked down at the umbrella again.

She reached out, took it from him and hung it up on a hook on the wall beside her bomber jacket.

"Oh, your jacket!" he exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting to see that while you've got the summer weather! I do think that jacket suits you."

She laughed softly and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Stop it," she said softly.

"Stop what?" he asked her.

"Hesitating," she replied, "Come on, take my hand."

And she held out her hand to him. He looked down at her slender fingers outstretched as a ray of afternoon sunshine cut through from an open window. He gave her a small, nervous smile and took her hand.

He knew he was trembling and hoped she didn't think any less of him for it; after fighting Daleks and Cybermen and all the other horrors the dark side of the universe could throw at him, he didn't want her to think getting intimate with her could scare him so much. The truth was, loving her this deeply scared him more than any enemy he had ever faced in the whole of the universe. She had both his hearts now, and he did not want her to break them. She did not know the extent of the power he had just handed her.

She stood there for a moment just holding his hand, saying no more. Then she turned away, still holding on to him, and led him towards her bedroom. He let her lead him, still nervous, still feeling like he wanted to love her and hold her and cry, but he wasn't sure in which order to do it.

* * *

Ace closed the bedroom door quietly and let go of his hand.

He stood there feeling awkward. He didn't need to feel awkward because he was a Time lord with centuries of life and experience and that experience included romantic encounters – but this was different, he was with _her_, he was with the one person in the universe who could turn his knees to jelly and make his hearts both race or miss a beat with a single glance...

"Come and lay down, just lay beside me," she said gently.

He took off his hat and jacket and placed them on the chair beside her dressing table. Then he turned his back and took off his jumper and kicked off his shoes. As he did that he heard her undressing, he heard the slide of material against her skin as she stripped off her clothing and it was almost too much to think about.

"I won't be a minute," he said, and his voice trembled as he spoke and his hands shook as he took off his tie and opened up the buttons on his shirt.

"Professor…"

He had just taken off his shirt and folded it carefully, taking his time, and then he draped it over the back of the chair. He turned sharply and the look in his eyes reminded Ace of a deer caught in headlights and she smiled fondly.

"Don't worry about taking everything off. Just come here, get in bed and let me hold you."

He smiled.

"Sounds good to me," he said, and then he got into bed beside her and turned on his side and met her gaze.

"Hello," she said fondly, and she ran her hand over his hair as she looked at him with love shining in her eyes.

"Just a minute…"

He was struggling. She heard him unbuckle his belt and then as he shifted about he laughed nervously.

"I can't get undressed…I'm falling out of the bed!"

Ace laughed.

"Let me help."

"No I can –"

He shut up as she turned him on his back. As her hands brushed against his hips and tugged at his clothing he felt thrills shooting through his body at her slightest touch, and he lay there, resigned to the fact that it would be better to let Ace take the lead, because he was a nervous wreck. She got his trousers off and then tossed them to the floor.

"Job done."

Her eyes were sparkling with amusement.

As she had shifted over to drop his clothing on the floor, she had sat astride him. She was till there, and the sheets had fallen to her waist and he knew she was naked and just as beautiful as he had imagined, but as his hearts pounded, tears choked up his voice and it was a struggle to speak.

"Ace."

She looked down at him.

"What's the matter?"

He reached up, placing his hands on her shoulders as he blinked away tears but felt certain more were coming and he would not be able to hold them back.

"I _do_ love you. I can't tell you how much, bigger than the universe, brighter than the brightest star I've ever seen…I just love you, and I know I'll never stop."

He drew in a sharp breath and tears ran down his face.

Ace slid down beside him. She was kissing his cheek as she wiped his tears away and he was still crying and wishing he had managed to hold it back.

He briefly thought of his future incarnation who he had just parted company with, and he felt sure that guy didn't sob like a girl when he was next to the woman he loved, he was willing to bet he took her in his arms, left her breathless and then got up and killed some Daleks, or stopped an interstellar war, or maybe he just had a cup of tea. But he definitely didn't do _this_…he hoped Ace didn't think any less of him for letting his emotions take over so strongly.

"Sorry," he said tearfully, "But I've loved you so long, I've wished for you, dreamed of you…I just never thought we could..."

"Shh," Ace shifted closer, putting her arm around him as the touch of her skin to his own warmed away his fears, "It's okay," she said gently, "I love you too, I'll love you forever."

These words had not been empty; they had been a promise that had come from her heart.

"I love you so much, Professor," she whispered and then she pulled him closer and their lips met, and as he returned her kisses, he suddenly found he wasn't shaking any more, because she had him in her arms and he felt safe there, he felt warm and he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Suddenly loving Ace was not such a frightening thought because he knew she felt the same, and as he held her, he found he was quite sure he belonged in her arms.

* * *

The sun was setting by the time Ace lay breathless and still clinging to him as he rolled over, pinning her to the bed and the crumpled sheets beneath her as he looked into her eyes.

All his hesitation had been kissed away and fire burned in his eyes as he spoke to her in soft, silky tones that only a lover could use.

"You're mine," he said to her, "Mine forever and that's a very long time, Ace… You and me, we will never be part again, I'll be with you always, I'll never leave you, I swear I won't leave."

He ran his fingers through her damp hair and kissed her, then took in every detail of her face as the flush faded from her and she started to get her breath back.

"I bet you never knew I could make you feel that good," he said with a smile.

"I thought you would," she told him, "And I wasn't wrong."

He gave her a hug, squeezing her tightly. As he spoke his words were muffled as he pressed his face against her shoulder.

Then he let go and looked hopefully into her eyes.

"Well?" he asked, "Don't you want to answer me?"

"_What?"_

His smile vanished.

"I thought you loved me."

She blinked, looking into his eyes with a confused expression.

"I _do_ love you! I couldn't hear you, your face was pressed against me."

"Oh…good, I mean good you just didn't hear me…"

"I _do_ love you," she said again gently, saying those words he needed to hear again so badly.

His eyes sparkled as he held her in his arms.

"_That's good, because I just asked you to marry me."_

Her jaw dropped. He was lying next to her with his arms around her and excitement shining in his eyes.

"I know we messed up before, in the other timeline. It won't happen this time. I'll stay with you…how could I have left you? I would never leave you, Ace! I'll marry you. The universe is pretty quiet, there's no threat to the planet going on…there's no reason why I can't stay here with you and just be with you and be happy. It's easy, that's all we have to do!"

She was still staring at him.

"You really want to marry me?"

"Of course I do, don't you want to marry me?"

She looked into his eyes. It hit her all over again that all her hopes and dreams that had once seemed so far off and unobtainable had just come true all at once.

She smiled and nodded as she blinked away tears of joy.

"Of course I will!" she told him.

"_Yes!"_ he exclaimed, grabbing her and kissing her face, her neck, her shoulders and over her face again.

Ace lay back laughing as he continued to give her little kisses, hardly able to contain his excitement and joy as he told her over and over that he was so happy, so very happy, and this was perfect…

At least, it _seemed _perfect.

There was a nagging doubt at the back of his mind, something was reminding him that some things could _not_ be changed, that certain events would play out the same even if others played out differently…

But he wasn't going to listen to that, not when he felt as if all the love in the universe was wrapped warm somewhere between the heat their skin generated as he held her close and their bodies fused in a moment of passion that made him weep all over again.

He knew he was messing with the timeline, and suddenly he didn't care, because centuries of battles and personal losses had added up to a heap of sorrow.

_Now he was going to leave all that behind._

_It was his turn to be happy now, and he was taking that chance with both hands, even though he felt as if he held that happiness cautiously, for it was so precious one slip could mean its loss, one mistake would shatter everything._

That doubt was still nagging at him as he silently vowed to hold on to the promise he had made, even though it seemed as if time itself was telling him it would not work out that way.

He ignored the doubts, making love with Ace until he was exhausted from passion and tears and then he clung to her, closing his eyes as night fell, shutting out everything but her closeness and the sound of her breathing, holding on to the woman who had become the focus of the whole of his universe, determined life would stay that way, and to hell with time for trying to tell him otherwise…

* * *

It felt good to be back, that was the first thought that hit him as the Twelfth Doctor stepped out of his Tardis and took in a breath of fresh air that reminded him the past was far behind, at least, the past belonging to his former life was far behind him now…

As Clara walked out of the gates of Coal Hill School, she smiled on seeing him standing there waiting for her.

"I get the feeling a situation may have been resolved," she said to him, "That look in your eyes is gone."

"Which look?"

"The sad one," she replied.

He looked far off to a place where land met sky in the distance and wished he could reach out and touch the past. But the past wasn't ready to touch him yet, and he was certain that when it did, it would hit with force, a bit like the way that out of control truck had smashed into the Seventh Doctor in the altered outcome…

They were walking along the street, him and Clara, he was lost in his thoughts and as she spoke up he barely heard her.

"Doctor?"

He stopped walking and glanced at her.

"What?"

"Something's wrong?"

That girl spotted everything, nothing got past her.

_A bit like Ace._

He had no idea why she was still on his mind, but he ignored that thought and concentrated on Clara instead.

"I don't know. Something is certainly different, but I can't say if it's in a good or a bad way. I never gave much thought to my Seventh life before, but now…"

He turned back to the distant hillside, to the place where land met sky as he searched for answers somewhere out there carried on the breeze.

"I saw it when I was in his Tardis. It flashed up at me, this other time and place…_He gets her out of the car. Ace lives_."

Clara's face lit up as she smiled.

"Then you did it, you changed it."

He looked back at her and his eyes burned with deep intensity. He had felt something else, shifting along the timeline, and it was not good…

"Yes I did change it," he said darkly, "Maybe I'm the same fool I was back then, that part of me is still pulling me in the wrong direction-"

"But she lives."

He grabbed Clara by her shoulders and his hands stayed there, his fingers pressing through the fabric of her jacket.

Her eyes widened.

"What is it?"

"He gets her out of the car. But their _son_ is in the back. I know he gets him out too but the truck hits him. He doesn't regenerate, I'm not sure why, maybe his injuries are not life threatening - but it looked bad enough from what I could see. And I can still feel something, some kind of regret, but I don't know what it's about…"

He took in a sharp breath and blinked away tears as a sudden pain flickered through his hearts. He let go of Clara's shoulders and blinked away tears that angered him, because this grief had no place here, not in _this_ lifetime…

"What is it?" she asked, looking at him intently, "Why is this getting to you now?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know, and I don't like it, either. This is my fault, for making contact with both of them."

"But she found you. Perhaps you're meant to be involved."

_"But why?"_

He began to walk along the street again, and Clara hurried to catch up with him.

"If it's bothering you that much, maybe you should just walk away. I mean, it was several lifetimes ago, why not just let it go?"

"Because I still think he walks away from her, like that's fixed and can't be changed. I don't understand it, he's there at the scene of the accident, but why is he there if he walked away and left her and his son? Why would he have left both of them?"

He turned sharply to Clara.

"_Why?"_ he said again.

She shook her head.

"I don't know. And like I just said, maybe _you_ should be the one to walk away, it's all in your past any way."

The speed at which anger sparked up in his eyes and blazed brightly was unexpected.

"_It might be his lifetime but it's mine too!"_ he snapped, _"And I would never have abandoned my own son!"_

Clara frowned, wishing the Doctor had never got involved with such a painful chapter of his own past.

"You wouldn't," she said, "That's you in _this_ life. You don't know everything about him, you can't remember and now you've made changes to the timeline you just don't know how it's going to turn out. He must have had a good reason. Only he knows why he did it."

Her words had little impact.

"I can't let go of this," he replied, and he reached into the pocket of his jacket, stopped walking again even though the Tardis was in clear sight now, and drew out a mobile phone. He ran through numbers, searching until he found the one he needed.

"It looks the same," he said, "I don't think they ever changed the number…" and then he put the phone away.

"What number?" Again she was quickening her pace to catch up with him as he strode towards the Tardis.

"UNIT," he said as he reached the door of the police box, "I had to be sure the number was the same back then. Someone calls UNIT when the Doctor gets injured in the crash. _That someone is me_."

And then he went into the Tardis and Clara followed.

He was already at the console and running a hand over the controls as he paused, deep in thought.

"What are you up to?" she asked carefully, "I hope you're not going to do what I think you are…"

He paused and then slowly met her gaze.

"Yes I am still involved," he said, "I can feel it, I'm just bracing myself for the moment of impact, when it all rushes back down the years and hits me all over again. A bit like the way that truck hit him when he saved his son. He's got guts, that man. I'm not even sure why I'm saying that, Clara! It's nothing to do with what happens at the scene of the accident, it's something else. That's what makes no sense…_why_ would I say that when I know he walks away?"

She had that look about her, the one that reminded him she was special, someone he had known in many times and places before, she was touched with insight like no other…

"Perhaps because there's more," she said in a hushed voice, "And you've yet to remember it."

He stared at her for a moment, silently making calculations in his head.

And then he turned back to the console as he considered his destination.

"We know where," he muttered as he worked, "But _when_, that's what I have to work out, _that's_ the key to everything…"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"_So this changes everything?"_

Ace had asked that question as she finished decorating a tall Christmas tree that stood by the wide windows in the front room of their new home. Five months had passed since that day in summer when he had told her how he felt, and then they had held on to each other and never wanted to let go. And in that time that had passed, much had changed.

The Doctor had bought a house just a short distance from the flat where Ace used to live. It was an ordinary, middle of terrace three bedroom place, but that was what he wanted - _ordinary_.

The Tardis was up against the wall at the back of the garden, beneath the shade of a tree. He had sworn to her he would be going nowhere, from now on it would just be the two of them here on earth, where no harm would come to either of them. She wasn't quite sure why he had said that, but had given it no more thought as she remembered he was trying his very best to cheat the death that lie ahead somewhere in his future.

Ace stepped back from the tree as Christmas lights twinkled and decorations shone as the light bounced off tinsel.

She turned around and spoke again.

"Professor!"

He looked up from the chair by the fire, where he sat reading a heavy book that bore the title _Tardis Manual_.

"What?"

"I said, this changes everything - you and me, staying here, together. It changes everything."

"I hope so," he replied, turning the page of the book.

He was still reading.

Ace gave a sigh as she tossed her long hair off her shoulder and fixed him with an impatient expression.

"Put that thing down! You said the Tardis stays put, you don't _need_ to read that manual!"

"But I might need to know something one day, the Tardis could malfunction and what if I can't fix it…just give me a minute…"

He carried on reading.

Ace smiled fondly at him and then spoke again.

"It looks like it might snow," she remarked, "I'm glad it's warm enough in here not to worry about the cold…"

"Hmm…" he replied distantly, turning another page.

And Ace went over to the open doorway. He was still reading.

"I'll just leave you to get on with your reading, then," she said, "I might go upstairs for a while."

"Okay…" he told her, and turned another page.

Then something soft hit him in the face and bounced off, sliding down the middle of the open book and landing in his lap.

He picked it up and then blinked in surprise. It was her bra. She taken it off, thrown it at him, and now he could hear her running up the stairs.

The Doctor started to smile as he closed the book and got up and made his way out to the hallway.

"Ace," he called out, "I think you dropped something…"

He heard a giggle coming from the bedroom.

"I'm coming up!" he said excitedly, and then he hurried up the stairs.

* * *

He went into the bedroom.

Ace was in bed, the sheet was wrapped around her as she sat up and tossed her hair off her face. She was laughing and her eyes were sparkling as she looked at him.

"Lose something?" he asked playfully, holding up the bra and then letting it fall to the carpet.

"Come here," she said, "I've got something for you that's more exciting than a Tardis manual!"

The Doctor sat down beside her and the bed bounced as he pulled her into his arms.

"That," he said as he kissed her, "Was very naughty, Ace! I was busy!"

And then she looked into his eyes and kissed him deeply.

He pulled back and smiled.

"And I'm not busy any more, I'm completely distracted and that's fine, I really don't mind at all."

They kissed again and Ace paused to hug him tightly, and then as he moved in to give her another kiss, she spoke up.

"I've got something to tell you."

Her voice had been soft and her eyes were shining with joy and excitement.

"What is it?" he asked her.

_And then she told him._

_She told him, and it ruined everything._

"I'm pregnant," she said, "I'm having a baby, you're going to be daddy!"

His smile faded. His embrace loosened as he shifted back a little, staring at her as if her words had made no sense at all.

"Professor, I'm having our baby."

He was still staring at her.

Ace's joy began to fade away as she saw no trace of happiness in his eyes as they darkened and he looked at her in disbelief.

"_Please tell me this is a joke."_

She blinked.

"What?"

He let go of her and sat up, and she did the same.

"It's not a joke, why would I joke about something like that? I did the test this morning. I'm pregnant."

He got up and turned his back on her, taking a step away from the bed.

Ace grabbed her t shirt and threw it back on, then she got up too and called his name but he did not turn around.

"Professor-"

"_What the hell have you done?"_ he yelled, turning sharply to glare at her angrily.

Ace blinked away tears as confusion clouded her mind.

"I don't get it…we love each other, what's wrong with being a family? You wanted to be ordinary, like other earth couples…that's what they do, they settle down and have kids…"

He closed his eyes as he gave a heavy sigh, and then he looked back at her with eyes filled with sorrow and somewhere in those dark pools, anger still simmered.

"You did this on purpose!"

"I didn't think you would mind! You said you wanted to be with me forever, you wanted us to be like other couples, you wanted a life with me-"

"With you, not a vulnerable baby who didn't ask to be dragged into this mess!"

He has yelled at her again and his anger confused her deeply.

"What mess? I see no mess here, Professor, just you and me together and happy, am I wrong about that?"

"No," he replied, "We were happy. And you just destroyed it, you stupid human!"

As her vision blurred with tears he walked out of the room. She tried to call his name but sobbed instead as she wondered why he was so very angry about something she had imagined he would be happy about. Then as she hurried after him down the stairs, she wondered if she had made the worst mistake of her life by assuming this would be the next logical step…

* * *

Ace walked into the front room and found him sitting by the fire on his favourite chair.

He was leaning on his closed umbrella that he'd grabbed on the way back into the room, simply because he needed to fiddle with something because he was angry, upset and generally feeling distraught.

She sat down on the sofa and looked at him.

He leaned harder on the handle of the umbrella and fixed her with a dark stare.

"What did you mean?" she said in a hushed voice, and felt surprised that she had managed to find the courage to be the first to speak and break the silence. She had not seen the Professor's eyes so dark and angry, not even when facing alien enemies, he had never had a look like this in his eyes before, and it was unnerving. Ace suddenly recalled the day he had told her he loved her. He had said, she could never make him angry. She guessed he had been wrong about that…

He said nothing in reply, and she asked him again.

"Professor? What did you mean when you said this was a mess?"

"Not this," he said, shaking his head. Then he blinked, and the deep, dark anger she had seen was gone. Now he looked like her Professor again, her lover, the man who had put a diamond ring on her finger and promised they would marry next spring - the man who clearly did not want to be a father…

"I don't understand," she said to him, and he gave a heavy sigh.

"Oh Ace, why did you have to do this to us? You don't just stop using birth control and then say _Surprise!_"

"But I just thought –"

"No," he said, as his voice softened, "No sweetheart you _didn't_ think. If you had thought about this you would have known there was no way we could have a family."

Ace looked at him in utter confusion.

"Why not?"

"You still don't get it, do you? Can't you think for a minute and work it out?"

"No, and this is not a chance for me to learn something new, Professor, this is about you and me and our baby and I don't understand, so tell me!"

He sounded weary as he spoke again.

"I have a lot of enemies out there in the universe. It's perfectly fine for you and me to be together, there's nothing stopping us doing that – and if a hostile alien picked up on the location of the Tardis and decided to pay a visit, you and me have always proved capable of fighting back, I'm sure your baseball bat and a few cans of nitro nine could handle most of them – but put a baby into that mix and imagine the worst."

And he looked hard at her.

Her eyes widened.

"No," she said, "No, _don't_ make me think like that –"

"But you have to! Imagine going into the nursery and finding the baby gone, or blood stains over the floor! There are some less than friendly races out there in the cosmos that eat human children! Although most of the enemies I've made would be happy to kill it in its cradle and leave the body for us to find, it would be a simple act of revenge and I can name many creatures that would do that to my offspring, I can write you an A to Z of species!"

She drew in a shocked breath and as her eyes blurred with tears she shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think like that –"

"Of course you didn't," he said as anger crept into his voice again, "You just thought about making a little Time lord with me, having my kid and playing happy families forever - well I've got news for you, Ace - there is no happy ever after! Many, many years from now this world will end! In between that time there's going to be wars, alien wars…the long term future of this planet is not a pretty sight! Open your eyes to the truth. We can't bring a child into this world and expose it to the threat of alien danger. That child would be marked from the day it was born, son of the Doctor…every enemy I've ever made would be queuing up to be the one to kill it!"

"You don't know that for sure," she said quietly, "You could hide the Tardis, put up a shield-"

"Forever?"

"Maybe, why not?"

Sadness clouded his eyes.

"I'm sure that would work but somewhere in the universe there will be a ship with scanning equipment that's more advanced than my shield. What then? Same scenario."

He got up.

"I need some air. I'm going for a walk."

She glanced out the window and saw thick flakes of snow drifting downward.

"But it's freezing."

"I don't care."

"But it's snowing!"

_"I know it is. You already said that, shortly before you ruined everything."_

She ran out to the hallway.

The Doctor put on his jacket, then his hat, and then he took up his umbrella once more.

As he opened the front door a sudden fear grabbed at her that he was about to walk away forever.

"Don't just leave!" she said in a frightened voice.

He paused, standing on the porch as he put the umbrella up.

"Professor!" she called tearfully.

He glanced back at her.

"I'm walking out the front door, Ace. I'm going out the gate and up the street to the pub on the corner…The Tardis is in the back garden, how the heck am I supposed to get off this planet _without_ it?"

And then he walked off as the snow continued to fall and Ace watched as he closed the gate, and then she shut the front door and leaned against it as she gave a quiet sob. Suddenly she had stopped crying for herself. It had happened as she thought about the baby inside her, who she had chosen to bring about, who had no say in what had indeed turned into a mess of a situation…

* * *

The sky grew dark.

Ace sat in the kitchen waiting as she drank tea and watched as the hands of the clock crawled around. She had never known the Professor to drink alcohol, but she guessed maybe he just needed to get out of the house and be around other people, just for company - preferring strangers to the person who in his words, had ruined everything…

And then around two hours after he had walked out, she heard the gate open.

Ace ran to the front door and opened it and blinked away tears of relief to see the Professor standing there in the snow.

He stepped on to the porch and let down the umbrella, shaking snow from it, and then he looked into her eyes.

"You're right," he said, "It _is_ cold out there. It's freezing! I just want to come inside and get warm. What was I thinking, to go out on a night like this?" And she smiled as she stepped back and he went inside, leaving his umbrella by the door and then taking off his hat and jacket and hanging them up.

He went through to the front room and stood by the fire, looking into the flickering flames as he rubbed his hands together.

Ace watched him, saying nothing.

"I just need to get warm," he said as he looked into the fire, "That's all I need…"

And she heard fondness creeping back into his voice. The anger was gone now and she listened as he spoke again, saying nothing as he said what was on his mind.

"I wish you hadn't done it, Ace. But you have. I can't ask you to have a termination because I know you want to keep it. Now I know it's here I want you to keep it too. I should stop saying it, he's a boy. I can sense him in there, a new life, starting to grow, wondering why you feel so scared…"

And he turned from the fire and looked at her.

"There's no easy solution to this. You have changed everything, but I do understand why you did it. You humans are all the same, you fall in love, you start expressing it physically and suddenly you want to make babies."

He walked over to her and put his hands gently on her shoulders.

"I wanted forever with you," he said softly, "But we can't have us and a family. I love you too much and now I know he's here, I love him too much to take this chance. I could be the cause of both your deaths and I can't risk it. I have to leave."

As tears filled her eyes he pulled her close to him, feeling pain in his twin hearts that he was sure would echo down through his regenerations to come…perhaps he wouldn't recall it at first, not when this life ended and his new one began, but maybe later, a few more lifetimes down the line, this pain would wake up again, reminding him of the loss he felt on the day he made this choice…

"I won't leave tonight," he said, "I'll stay a while longer. But please don't expect me to stay forever, I can't do it."

And as he looked into her eyes she saw tears had streaked his face.

_"I'm sorry Ace,"_ he whispered, _"It's the only way I can keep you both safe."_

* * *

As the Twelfth Doctor stood in the Tardis considering time and how much of it he had to tinker with to solve a difficult situation, a sound drifted up from the corridor beyond and he slowly looked up, fixing his gaze on the doorway that led out of the main console room.

"What?" Clara said, glancing towards the door but seeing and hearing nothing unusual.

The Doctor heard it again.

"That was strange," he remarked, "I just heard voices."

Apprehension flickered in her eyes. He was still recently regenerated, just a few weeks, and she wondered if the trauma of regenerating was catching up with him again – could that happen? She wasn't sure, and she asked him a question carefully:

"Are you feeling okay?"

He looked at her.

"Of course I am, I'm just tuning in to something…this place is full of memories. For some reason I can reach out and touch them like I could in no other life before, maybe it's caused by some kind of post regeneration energy settling down inside me…I can feel everything that ever happened in this Tardis…"

And then he smiled.

"It's not all bad memories. There's a lot of good in here too, friendships…"

He blinked and faces flickered before his eyes and then melted away like spirits vanishing into the ether.

"I can remember so much."

Then his eyes sparkled as he laughed softly.

"You wouldn't believe how much has gone on in here over the years… and I can feel him and Ace so strongly, every day they spent together…how these feelings grew. The tension in the air was like electricity sometimes…"

He walked around the console and spoke again.

"I can name every planet they visited, recall every conversation they ever shared…"

He was still talking, half to himself as he continued to speak about a past that was so close he could almost touch it.

Clara was barely listening to his recollections as she stepped up to the console and accessed the Tardis computer. She quickly entered data and waited, and then got on her knees to wait for the result to print out...

"What does this mean?" she said under her breath, wondering why new thoughts had come to her of people and places and vague whispers of something that felt like the past, yet brand new, and all the while the Doctor was standing there looking out the window of the view of the earth below and talking about his own recollections.

"It makes no sense…it's almost like I'm picking up on a different set of events…It couldn't have been before, they didn't get together until he settled on earth with her…so why am I seeing this here? I'm not complaining, those two were at it all over the place…certainly making up for lost time…I was right about here on the floor, but if it was me, I wouldn't want to do something like that so close to sensitive equipment…"

Clara snatched the print out from the console.

"Did you hear a word just I said?"

Clara was still on her knees as she read out the information.

"What?" she replied vaguely.

The Doctor gave a sigh of impatience.

"I said, it's sensitive equipment, well – _mine is_."

She was still looking at the print out. She frowned on hearing his tone of voice.

"What?" she said again.

_"Sex,"_ he replied, _"Here on the floor by the console?"_

She almost dropped the paper she was holding as she turned her head and found herself eye level with the Doctor's belt buckle.

"What do you think?" he asked again, and tapped his fingers impatiently on the surface of the control panel as he leaned casually against it.

Clara's gaze moved slowly up from his belt to his shirt to his face and she bit her lip.

"Hurry up!" he said, "I haven't got all day, Clara! Do you have an opinion, or not?"

She smiled nervously as she got up from the floor and looked into his eyes.

"Well I didn't really think about here…I mean, so spontaneously…you didn't exactly put it across in the way I might expect…"

The Doctor's impatience grew and it showed in his eyes.

"I was only saying I consider my equipment to be sensitive and I wouldn't want to damage anything…sex on the floor…Hurry up, I haven't got all day, what's wrong with you?"

Her eyes widened and she drew in a slow breath as she tried not to think about how this proposition had come about so suddenly and so soon after his regeneration.

"If you want to, maybe…we should talk about this first…I mean, it's a bit sudden but maybe we could start things a little more slowly…"

He blinked.

"What? Sorry, I'm lost…I was talking about what I sensed in here, this place is like a ship of ghosts, I can feel everything that went on, especially in his life time. I was saying, he had her on the floor once, here on this spot, right near the console. That's dangerous, the Tardis controls are sensitive…what did you_ think_ I meant?"

Clara's face was heating up.

She avoided his gaze as she laughed and shook her head.

"Nothing," she said quickly, "I didn't hear all of the question."

And then she changed the subject because her face was still flushing, and she showed him the paper in her hand.

"What do you think of this?"

He read the names and shook his head.

"Samantha? That's all you've got? Could be anyone. Doesn't sound familiar. And I've never heard of Dr Aden Mason."

"He works for UNIT."

The Doctor thought about it.

"And this just slipped out of thin air and into your head?"

Clara nodded.

"There's a medical centre attached to UNIT, they created it a few years back so that I could have medical assistance if I received injuries that were bad enough to need treatment but not bad enough to trigger regeneration. I don't know who runs it, but it could be linked – I know I make the call to UNIT when the accident happens."

"Glad I could help."

Clara was still standing there looking at him, and her blush was fading although he could tell from the look in her eyes that her response to the misunderstanding had clearly been a flattering one from his perspective, now he had time to think about it.

"We should get straight to the crash scene," he told her, "I want to get there, make the call and then perhaps grab some time to talk to Ace about what happened in '93… I still think he left her. It's on my mind - the Doctor walks away. I just can't work out when or why, it's not even linked to the regeneration later on…let's go back to 2000 and see what we can find out."

And he keyed in co ordinates.

Then he looked back at Clara and smiled.

_"And I worked it out, what you thought I said. Thanks, I'm flattered, but with all this Ace business going on I'm a bit off the idea of romance – and off the idea of sex with no strings too."_

Clara's smile faded.

"Okay," she said, resisting the urge to reply sarcastically that he had a gift for saying the sweetest things, and then she turned away, blushing yet again. The Tardis wheezed and groaned, and then it slipped through dimensions on its way to another time and place.

* * *

Back in '93, Ace had fallen asleep after a long talk with the Seventh Doctor about the future. He had told her he would do all he could try and fix this, to find a way for them to be together, and this goodbye was not necessarily the last one.

Then he finally let go of her as she slept deeply, stood over her as he put on his hat and jacket and reached for his umbrella. And then he opened up the note he had spent more than an hour writing, and read through it one more time:

_'Dear Ace,_

_I'm sorry to leave while you're sleeping. I'm sorry to be leaving you at all. But I have a long life ahead of me even though that life will not always be in this regeneration, and that's a long time to carry sad memories. I think it would eventually kill me if my last memory of you was seeing you cry and beg me not to leave. So I'm trying to make this easy on both of us. Or maybe just me, I'm not sure. I'm too heartbroken to think clearly about much. Please don't hate me, because I will love you forever. And tell our boy about me when he's older, tell him why I had to leave and make sure he understands it was because I love you both and want to keep you safe and there was no other way to do it. Tell him you will both see me again one day and when you do, I will be there for the right reason – because I love you both and I would do anything for you. I'm going to miss you so much both my hearts are already broken._

_Sorry, and I love you._

_The Doctor.'_

And then he laid the note on her pillow and looked at her one last time, her features were lit by moonlight as she slept on, unaware that she would wake in the morning and find him gone.

_"I'm so sorry Ace,"_ he whispered, and then he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Moments later Ace stirred in her sleep as her dreams were broken by the sound of the Tardis making a familiar groan, and then she turned over, slipping back into a deep sleep as her hand closed around the note he had left her, and she slept on, unaware that as of that moment, she was now completely alone…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

How the hell did we wind up like this?  
Why weren't we able,

To see the signs that we missed  
And try to turn the tables?

Now the story's played out like this  
Just like a paperback novel

Let's rewrite an ending that fits  
Instead of a Hollywood horror…

_~ Nickelback, 'Someday'_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

The Tardis had landed.

The Doctor turned to Clara and felt touched by the concern he saw in her eyes, but didn't care to voice that aloud.

"What do you mean? You think I can't handle seeing a former version of myself get smashed up trying to be a hero, trying to make up for the biggest mistake of his regeneration?"

His tone had been accusing. Clara knew she had touched a nerve.

"I want to be there with you. I know it won't be easy to watch."

He took his phone from his pocket, checked it and then looked back at her.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm perfectly capable of standing back and watching the worst happen and making the call to UNIT."

"But you've been sensing a lot about your seventh life. Is it such a good idea to stand there and watch as he makes such a sacrifice? What if some of the trauma transfers to you?"

"I'll deal with it," he replied, "What ever I feel will be passing, like a memory jumping back to life for a few seconds. It will be much worse for him."

"You sound like you're really starting to like that other you."

"I meant what I said, I do admire him. He's got guts. I didn't think so at first, but I do now."

"Why? " she asked, "You said that before, and you said it was nothing to do with today."

And the Doctor stood there as the console room glowed softly and fixed his gaze on the lights that seemed to shine brighter all of a sudden. _Something was coming through._

The past was about to catch up and hit him like a truck…

He blinked, and then saw through the eyes of his seventh life.

And the Tardis vanished.

_He was standing there beside the car, he shoved their son towards his mother, who looked back at him with eyes wide with terror._

"_Professor!" she yelled._

_He turned as the vehicle hurtled towards him, there was a rush of cold air and driving rain and it smashed into him, knocking him sideways, the world turned to black as he felt as if every bone in his body had shattered._

_Then he was looking up at Ace, who was crying and speaking to him softly._

"Doctor?"

Clara was calling his name and she sounded distant as he ignored her, wrapping his arms tightly about his body as he caught his breath, feeling the pain pass through him as a memory, and it lingered as he kept his focus and more scenes played out:

"That's all I want," Ace said as tears glazed her eyes, "I kept hoping he would come back that night, and he did, I opened the door and he was standing there in the snow…all these years, all I've wanted is to see him come back to me, I wanted to see him standing there in the snow just one more time, holding out his hand and telling me to go with him…"

Then the scene shifted.

_The Seventh Doctor was in his Tardis, his hearts filled with sorrow as he reached for a lever to activate the controls that would take him far from earth and on to his final journey, he knew it would lead to his death, he knew it was the end of his Seventh life, he had been ordered by the ruling Timelords of Gallifrey to embark on a mission to bring the Master's body back to the home planet. _

_And he knew, he just knew this was the end…_

_His hearts were aching for Ace and for his son as he thought of how he had walked away before the boy was born, and then turned up seven years later to save his family, they had ended up having a few precious months together, in that time he had come to understand that his fears had been unfounded, he had left them and wasted so much time and now there as no more time, his own death was near, he could feel it and he had so many regrets._

_He lowered his hand to the lever, ready to activate the time control. _

_And then another hand closed over his, preventing him from taking off._

_He looked up, meeting the gaze of the one who had stopped him from leaving._

"_This had better be good!" he said bitterly, "Because I'm out of ideas and out of time!"_

And then it was as if time itself let go of him and the Doctor gave a gasp as the scene melted away, along with the aches in his bones and the heaviness in his hearts as he had watched the last days of his Seventh life play out.

He drew in a slow breath, blinking several times.

Clara said his name again.

He looked at her.

"I think…I _might _have a clue," he said, "I'm not sure…"

"What did you see?" she asked him.

He drew his phone from his pocket and headed for the door of the Tardis.

"There's no time," he said, "I have to call UNIT."

* * *

A short distance away across the other side of the road and up a grassy bank, the Seventh Doctor's Tardis materialised.

He opened the door and stepped out looking down at the road below.

It was raining and freezing fog hung in the air.

He watched as the traffic moved along in the bad weather. Then he checked his watch:

_Five minutes to go…_

He kept his closed umbrella in his hand as the rain continued to fall and soak through his jacket. He didn't care about the cold or the teeming rain – he had just come from '93, on the night he had walked out on Ace and their unborn child he had set his destination for the year 2000, his first thought being to come here and use a moment of courage to save the life of the woman he loved who was now thirty years old, and his son, who was aged seven. He didn't know what Ace had told the boy, he didn't even know if she hated him for leaving the way he did. But he was certain he could not make another move in his life in this world or any other, not without ensuring they both survived the smash that was about to happen…

He watched and waited, ready to risk everything for the family he had left behind.

* * *

Ace had tried to get out of the traffic by taking a detour.

She had ended up parked at the side of the road as she waited for the traffic to clear, to grab a moment to cut through and make her escape. This journey had not been planned, but her son had a day off school because of teacher training and she had taken him into town and the weather had turned bad and the rest…_was turning out just as before, but Ace knew nothing of the danger that was heading their way because the Professor had never told her about it…_

Ace watched as the lights flickered off and then back on, several cars had run into each other bumper to bumper across the road and she gave a sigh.

"Come on!" she said, "Someone let me out!"

And the cars continued left and right, the traffic slowing in the bad weather.

Her son spoke up from the back seat.

"Mum, I want to go home! Why did you park here?"

"Because I can't get across the road!" she told him, "We won't be here much longer…just a few more minutes, Nat."

And she looked around at the boy with dark hair and the Professor's eyes and smiled.

"We will get home soon," she promised, her voice softening as she thought of the man who had fathered her son and how much the boy looked like him. Then she turned back and watched as rain ran down the windscreen and the traffic continued to flow.

_Her thoughts switched back to the Professor_.

She had thought of him a lot lately – he was rarely far from her mind but lately, he had been there almost constantly and she wasn't sure why. Ace tried not to think about him deeply because then the ache in her heart deepened too and she knew that would only lead to shedding more tears.

She was sure she had become stronger since he left but only in the way any other woman would have become aware of their own strength after giving birth without the father of their baby at their side and then raising the child alone.

She still wished he had not left while she was sleeping. And she still thought of their last goodbye and how it could have been – a chance to hold him one last time - one last kiss, one last look into his eyes…

She had lost count of the times she had read his note.

But Ace didn't blame him. She had often looked at her son, thought how precious he was and then recalled the reasons why his father had left - to keep him safe from his enemies. That was how she saw it; this was the price of falling in love with a Time lord.

And she was _not_ expecting to see him ever again, not now, not after all these years…

* * *

The Seventh Doctor was looking down the slope.

The Twelfth Doctor was watching across the busy road, on the bank at the other side, and as he ended his call to UNIT he lowered the phone and kept his sights fixed on his Seventh incarnation as he hurried down towards the roadside, where Ace's car was parked up with the hazard lights on.

"Go on," he whispered, wishing luck to his former self, "You can do this…you need to change it…it just takes a moment of courage."

And then the past flashed up in his mind and he briefly saw Ace back in '93, turning to the Seventh Doctor as she told him she needed a moment of courage to do _this_, and then their lips touched.

That was it - that was the thought on his mind as he hurried down that wet grassy bank.

The Twelfth Doctor blinked, and the vision was gone, and he knew as he watched him hurry down towards the car, he knew it with every beat of his twin hearts:

He still love her, at that moment, his Seventh regeneration would have done anything, sacrificed anything, to save her and his son from death…

And then he slipped on the wet grass, fell and went sliding down the bank, covering his trousers and the back of his jacket in mud.

As he landed at the bottom, the Twelfth Doctor blinked in surprise.

"So much for the hero's grand entrance!" he exclaimed, and then he continued to watch as the Seventh Doctor picked himself up, brushed mud and wet grass from his clothing and hurried over to the car.

"Good luck, Doctor," he said in a low voice, and then he continued to stand there on the bank, as the rain fell and the breeze picked up, waiting for the accident to happen.

* * *

Ace was watching the rain run down the windscreen.

Then her son turned his head, staring in disbelief as he saw the man he had only ever seen before in an old photo she kept above the fireplace hurry over to the car. He looked through the window of the driver's side.

Ace was still looking ahead.

_"Mummy,"_ he said in surprise, _"Daddy's here!"_

"What?"

Ace turned her head just as the red question mark handle of an umbrella knocked sharply against the window.

Her jaw dropped.

"Professor?"

It was all she could say as she stared at him.

"Get out of the car!" he yelled, "Get out of the car, Ace!"

She reached for the lock and released it, freed her seat belt and opened the door.

As she got out of the car she didn't feel the cold or the rain or the sharpness of the foggy air as she looked at the man she thought she would never see again.

"Professor?" she said again, but he just grabbed her sharply and dragged her from where she stood, shoving her backwards.

_"Get out of the way!"_ he shouted, _"There's a lorry coming…"_

And then as Ace hit the grassy bank and rolled, she pulled herself upright in a movement that would not have been out of place in the old days, when she had been ducking shots fired by Daleks.

She picked her self up and looked ahead, hearing the sound of the rush of water beneath wheels.

The Professor was breathless and as he turned to her, relief shone in his eyes.

"Come on, we have to run –"

Ace stared at him as her eyes grew wider, then she looked to the car, and back at the Doctor.

_"Nat's in the car!"_ she yelled.

He turned back, heard a boy call _Daddy,_ and dived for open door, reaching in to unlock the passenger side.

_"Get your seat belt off!"_ he shouted at his frightened son.

The boy's hand reached for the belt, hitting it and slipping off, then as the rush of wheels grew closer and Ace shouted to him to hurry, the Doctor wrenched the door open, leaned inside and released the seat belt.

_"Hurry up!"_ Ace yelled again.

And then she looked up to see a shadow looming out of the fog, as visibility broke gleaming chrome rushed at her, along with large wheels and a thundering engine as the lorry swerved and sounded its horn, and then it slipped across the road, coming straight at the car, and the Professor and their son…

She took in a breath as everything flashed in front of her eyes; the lorry was skidding on the wet surface. And then she saw him pull Nat from the car, he turned and shoved him towards her and her crying son collided with her and she caught him as he sobbed and she dragged him back. As she clung to him tightly the lorry slammed into the car, just as the Doctor turned back towards the bank. The vehicle ran into the car, smashing it as the Doctor was caught by the force of the collision and thrown to the roadside.

"_No!"_ Ace screamed as she clutched their son tightly.

Glass had shattered and steel buckled and the crushed vehicle was dragged along the road leaving wreckage in its wake, before the lorry skidded again, broke free from the car and hit an oncoming petrol tanker. The explosion echoed along the busy road as cars slammed on their brakes and ran into other vehicles. As flames shot up charring the lorry and the tanker, a plume of black smoke rose up skywards, mixing in with the fog and darkening the world as if nightfall had arrived early…

* * *

Ace was on her knees at the roadside as firelight flickered from burning vehicles further along the road.

She was kneeling at the side of the man she loved, the father of her child, the man she called Professor. His coat was ripped and he looked battered and bruised as he lay at the side of the road. She reached out a shaking hand and swept it over his dark hair, but he did not respond as she gave a sob.

"Professor," she said tearfully, "Please don't die, please hold on…I never stopped loving you, please…don't die…"

The fog that hung in the air mixed with smoke was freezing but she took off her coat oblivious to the cold and draped it over him, covering him up to his shoulders as she tried to keep him warm.

Sirens were wailing in the distance heading for the scene of the fire.

Ace took hold of his hand and gripped it tightly.

"You can't leave us now," she said tearfully, "We love you so much…"

And then as she knelt there holding his hand she turned her head and looked at their son, who stood there with wide dark eyes as he looked from the Doctor to Ace.

"Is he dead?" he asked in a frightened voice.

"No," Ace said firmly, "No Nathan, Daddy is not dead, he's going to be all right… he has to be…"

And then as the sound of a helicopter grew louder and she looked up, her hair blowing back as the wind picked up.

_"Who called UNIT?"_ she wondered.

And then she just knew someone was standing across the road, high up on the bank. Instinct told her as sure as she felt his eyes on her as she turned her head, and then she saw him. His open jacket blew back in the wind and rain as he stood there beside his own Tardis with a mobile phone in his left hand.

As the helicopter turned on its searchlight to cut through the smoke and fog, she remembered UNIT was the only organisation that could help the Professor now, and she looked across to the other Doctor and mouthed a message:

_Thank you._

He nodded, put his phone away, and then turned back and walked the short distance to his Tardis.

As the light flashed on the blue box and it started to vanish the helicopter was landing, and Ace was clinging to the hand of the Seventh Doctor, telling him over and over that he had to hold on and he couldn't die now, because it wouldn't be fair, he had only just found her again…

* * *

As the Tardis drifted peacefully away from the scene of the accident, Clara looked at the Doctor with concern in her eyes.

"So he saved them? He _did_ save them, didn't he?"

He nodded.

"Thankfully I didn't feel the impact of the crash this time," he replied, "But he certainly did."

And he could feel that link reaching out to him again as he focussed intently on it and the message it conveyed.

"He won't regenerate yet – that comes later. He will die the way he was destined to die…but not yet. He's not dying, but he is smashed up. Ace and the boy are fine."

And he walked around the console, looking down at the controls just to focus on anything but the knowing eyes of Clara Oswald.

"That boy is your son."

"No," he replied, still looking at the console, "Not mine - he was fathered by my Seventh incarnation. He's the boy's father. He had a relationship with Ace. I didn't do that. I have to draw a line somewhere, Clara. If I didn't, can you imagine what my life would be like?"

"Full of family scattered about the universe?" she guessed, and he looked up at her sharply and glared at her.

"My past is just that – in the past! I'm not going to cling to ties from other lifetimes, it's not practical."

"Practical?" Clara exclaimed, "How many kids have got, Doctor?"

"Me?" he said, "None. By that I mean, in this lifetime, I have none. And it's staying that way. I don't need the complications."

He had spoken sounding very sure of himself, but she caught a flicker of doubt in his eyes, and decided in light of all he had just witnessed it would be better to leave the subject alone.

"Of course I've fathered children," he added, turning his attention back to the controls, "I'm a man with warm blood and a pulse and I've lived for centuries. It's not rocket science…"

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

He had set new co ordinates.

"We're staying in 2000," he told her, "I'm going over to the UNIT medical centre. I have to, I need to speak to Ace."

Clara nodded and said nothing, because his decision had not surprised her, and she knew he was not in the mood to hear her make that observation aloud...

* * *

Ace had sat for several hours with her son in a seating area where they had remained since being taken back to the medical centre. Now the boy was sleeping across two seats and Ace was waiting in silence as she wondered if the medical staff could do anything at all for the Doctor, whose physical composition was not human, and while she was aware they knew a little of how his alien body worked, she also knew they did not know all about it - and she hoped they had done at least enough research to be able to treat his injuries.

The moment the lorry had come rushing at the car had played over and over in her mind so many times she was sure that when she eventually slept, she would see it happening all over again. It wasn't the moment when she saw it heading for the car while she was in its path, it was the moment the Professor and her son had been seconds from death. It was something she could never forget, along with the split second he had pushed Nat to safety, and then turned back too late as the speeding vehicle had ploughed into the car…

Her son had been shaken up, but he would be okay. He was tired and sleeping deeply now, and thankfully the terrifying events that had played out were not giving him bad dreams. She thought about the Professor and how he had looked after the impact, battered and bruised and bleeding, he had not responded at all as she called his name over and over, and had still been unconscious when they had arrived at the medical facility. He had not showed signs of regenerating, which she hoped had to be a good thing, because at least if he was not changing she hoped that meant his injuries were not fatal…

"Excuse me, Ace?"

She looked up at the tall man in the white coat who had approached her quietly.

"Is he okay?" she asked him anxiously.

"I'm _really_ thrilled to meet you!" he exclaimed "I'm Dr Aden Mason. And you're Ace, you've worked with the Doctor! Wow…"

And she blinked, looked into his blue eyes and watched as he ran his fingers through dark hair and then he smiled and blushed as he looked at her.

"I'm really thrilled," he said again, "To meet someone who has worked with him so closely… and of course I have top level security clearance, because I'm in charge around here…so I know about you and him and your son…you had his son…wow…you've actually…I mean, you've _got together_ with the Doctor…your son is the son of a Time lord!"

And then he laughed.

_"I wish my Dad had been a Timelord! Cool or what!"_

The look in her eyes hardened.

"I just want to know if he's all right!" she snapped, and Aden's smile faded.

"Sorry, I got a bit excited thinking about it all… let me see…he's not showing signs of regeneration, and scans have confirmed his injuries…he's got concussion, a couple of cracked ribs, tons of cuts and bruises and a some damage to his lower back. A human would have died from the impact of that crash. He's still here because he's alien, he's much more resilient that us."

"So he's going to be okay?"

It was all she wanted, a simple yes or no and waiting for that confirmation was agonizing.

"He's had some medication to take down the swelling in his spine and we found an internal bleed, but it was a small one and that's stopped now…he's in a lot of pain, so he's on morphine and its working for him. And that's all. We can't do any more for him, I'm sorry about that."

Ace blinked. Her eyes filled with tears.

"What? You mean you can't save him?"

As he looked in alarm at her tearful face, he realised his mistake.

"No! I didn't mean it like that…I never was very good at explaining things… he's going to make a complete recovery, he just needs some rest. A lot of rest. When I said I couldn't do any more, I meant I wished I could – he's in a lot of pain, I'm just thankful his body responds to the morphine."

Ace breathed out a hugely relieved sigh and then got up from her seat.

"Can I see him?"

"Certainly, " Aden replied, "He's in the room up the corridor, second door on the left – but he might not be fully awake yet."

Relief was shining in her eyes.

" That doesn't matter. I'll stay with him."

Aden sat down next to Nat, and at that moment the boy woke up, sat up and blinked tired eyes.

"Is my Daddy okay?" he said.

Ace smiled.

"He's going to be fine. But he needs a lot of rest. I'm going to sit with him now, you can see him later when he's awake, then you can talk to him."

"I'll sit with your son," Aden offered.

"Thanks," she said, and as she turned away, despite the worry she had been through that would not subside until she had seen the Professor, she smiled, because as she walked off she heard Aden say to her son:

_"So, your Dad is the Doctor? Oh wow, that must be so cool! Have you ever flown in the Tardis? Have you ever seen a Dalek?"_

* * *

As Ace reached the door of his room, she hesitated, recalling how terrible his injuries had looked right after the crash. Then she drew in a deep breath and reached for the door handle.

_"Ace?"_

She turned around to see the other Doctor walking towards her, he was in a hurry and he had a young woman at his side who was almost jogging to keep up with him.

She stepped away from the door and looked at the Twelfth Doctor with impatience in her eyes.

"Thanks for calling UNIT, I appreciate it – but I really just want to go and sit with the Professor –"

_"No sorry this can't wait."_

The girl who stood beside him gave a sigh and cut in before he could say any more.

"Sorry about him – I'm Clara Oswald."

"Hi…" Ace said vaguely, her thoughts still on her Professor and the heartache she felt that wouldn't subside until she could be reunited with him.

The Doctor shot Clara an irritated glance.

"_Sorry about him?_ This won't take five minutes!"

"But Ace needs to see him, she's worried about him –"

_"She's not seen him for seven years, she can hang on for another five minutes!"_

Clara turned her back.

"You're _so_ insensitive!" she muttered, and the Doctor let that remark fly way over his head.

"I need to know what happened, fill in the gaps for me – I'm trying to help and I need to know what happened, why did he leave you?"

Ace frowned as she thought about the morning she had woken to find the note on her pillow.

"He left in '93 when I was pregnant. He said I had to bring the baby up without him because if he stayed we could all be in danger."

"I make him right," the Doctor replied, "I can certainly understand that point of view. But you didn't get any trouble, did you?"

She shook her head.

"Me and Nat have been quite safe. I'm sure if there were aliens about searching for him they'd pick up on Nat's DNA… and that hasn't happened."

"I don't think it will," he replied, "You're human, your child is human in every way too. I don't know if he will have any Time lord abilities when he's older, but he's certainly not detectable to alien forces. Maybe you should point that out to your Professor when he wakes up."

Ace smiled.

"After what he did for us today," she said warmly, "I never want him to leave again."

"You still love him?"

"On the day I told him I was pregnant he lost his temper and stormed out of the house, all I wanted was for him to come back. Then he did… I opened the door and saw him standing there in the snow_. _That's all I want," Ace said as tears glazed her eyes, "I kept hoping he would come back that night, and he did, I opened the door and he was standing there in the snow…all these years, all I've wanted is to see him come back to me, I wanted to see him standing there in the snow just one more time, holding out his hand and telling me to go with him…"

And then she smiled.

"But he's back now, and I'm not letting go of him again!"

The Doctor smiled back at her, and then Ace went into the Professor's room and closed the door behind her.

As the door closed, the Doctor's smile faded.

"She won't be so thrilled with her hero when she thinks about it," he said in a low voice, "She's going to work something out."

And the Doctor turned away from the door and began to walk back down the corridor. Clara hurried to catch up with him.

"What do you mean, what will she work out? Why are looking for problems, don't you like happy endings?"

The Doctor stopped walking.

"This is not the end because it doesn't end here. This situation isn't over yet. And yes I do prefer a happy ending but let's be realistic, because I prefer that. And no, she won't be happy when she works out that he turned up after seven years absence seconds before the crash. He knew it was going to happen and he didn't tell her. _He kept it from her and she's going to hate that._"

Clara's expression changed to one of disappointment.

"And I thought this was sorted out."

"It's not," he told her, "There's more. I just have to figure out what I saw and what it all means, I'm not done with this yet – we're going back to the Tardis."

And then he walked on and Clara walked beside him saying nothing as she wished that life could be simple, especially the Doctor's life, because all this involvement with the heartache of his Seventh incarnation was starting to get to him, she could see it in his eyes, old pain reflected where there used to be none, and it made her feel powerless because like the Doctor had said, there was more to be done – and he was the only one who could find the answers he needed…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ace sat down quietly.

"Professor?" she said softly, but he slept on as she took hold of his hand.

"I always hoped you'd come back," she told him, "But not like this…I didn't want something like this to happen."

Tears were stinging her eyes.

"_Why_ did you have to get hurt? Why didn't you warn me? I never would have been on that road, I would have stayed home today!"

And suddenly as she watched him sleeping, the truth dawned on her.

She drew in a slow breath and blinked as her tears swiftly dried up and as she spoke again, she felt hurt in a way that was very familiar indeed:

_"You knew!_ _You knew, and you never told me! You could have told me before you left, but you didn't… Why? Why did you hide this from me?"_

He continued to sleep as she recalled the many times in the past, during her travels with him, when he had been secretive, and now was no exception...

"You didn't tell me!" she said in a hushed voice, "You just kept quiet and handled it _your_ way instead of warning me!"

Ace wanted him to wake up so she could look him in the eye and demand an answer, but as he continued to sleep and the sound of bleeping monitors cut through the silence and she saw the cuts and bruises and dressings and stitches that marked his body, her anger faded away.

"Bastard," she whispered, "You had to do it, you had to manipulate the situation, you _never_ change!"

_And it had cost him this time._

That was the thought that hit her as she looked at him again, saw him lying there in bed with sheets up to his chest:

His right eye was black and a deep cut just above it had been closed with surgical thread. His face was bruised and other bruises of varying shades covered his arms and his shoulders. Fluid ran into his arm via an IV line, and the more she looked at him and thought about just how badly hurt he was, the more she wondered if she ought to be angry with him at all – perhaps he would realise after what had happened, that he didn't have to be secretive or manipulate situations when it came to using his knowledge of time and what was to come…

"Have you learned your lesson now, Professor?" she said softly, "Are you finally going to be open with me, no more secrets?"

And the Doctor gave her hand a firm squeeze.

He drew in a breath and his eyes remained closed as he spoke in a voice that sounded far from weak:

"_I heard all that. Are you okay?"_

Ace felt an ache in her heart all over again, and wasn't quite sure why tears had sprung to her eyes.

"Yes," she said in a hushed voice.

"Is Nat okay?" he asked.

"He's fine."

His eyes were still closed as he briefly smiled.

"Good, that's all that matters," he said, and then his grip on her hand slid away as he drifted back into a deep sleep.

Ace blinked and as a tear ran down her face she wiped it away, and then she reached out and carefully placed her hand on his cheek, gently stroking his bruised face as he slept on.

"_I'm not angry,"_ she whispered, _"I want to be, and I will be, but I can't manage it right now…I love you too much to be angry today…"_

And then she leaned over him and kissed his cheek, before sitting back and watching him as he rested, not wanting to leave his side as she forgot about everything but the fact that she was thankful he had survived, and as she looked at him she knew it would be impossible to turn away from him now, no matter how much that anger flared back up later on when he was stronger, when she could quarrel with him and not feel as if she was hurting an already injured man.

She still loved him, she would love him forever and sometimes it was a love that ripped her heart in half, but now as she looked at him she knew she couldn't walk away even if she tried to, she knew she would love him for the rest of her life and that love would never change - even though the anger she felt over his secrecy made her furious, and it continued to simmer there beneath the surface…

* * *

Ace left the Doctor's bedside an hour later, she found Nat looking rather confused as he sat there listening to Dr Aden Mason talking about how his Daddy was a Time lord and had a blue flying police box, how he was a hero who had saved earth many, many times.

"I don't actually know what you mean," Nat said, "I don't really know my Daddy. _I met him today_."

And then Ace had thanked him for minding her son, then took the boy by the hand and led him outside, where a car was waiting to take them home. Ace had called a friend and arranged for her son to stay with her for the next few days – it was all she could think to do.

Part of her wanted to turn her back and walk away and leave him there in that hospital bed, leave him to get over his injuries alone and then he could get back in his Tardis and get out of their lives… She knew she ought to do that, purely out of anger. She ought to leave him alone, forget about him, because every time she thought about the secret he had held back, that anger simmered.

And then she thought about his bruised and battered body and pain he was suffering, and her heart broke for him all over again.

She said nothing as the car sped along the road back towards Perivale, she turned her head to the window and watched as fields passed in a blur, and then houses appeared in the distance.

"I think Aden likes my Daddy," he said, "He told me he joined UNIT because he's a fan of the Doctor. He thinks he's great."

Ace was still looking out the window.

"He doesn't know him like I do," she said quietly, "Believe me, he doesn't know the man at all."

"I wanted to see my Daddy before I went home," he complained.

"You will see him when he's feeling better," she replied.

And then her son closed his hand over the sleeve of her jacket.

"Mummy," he said quietly, and Ace looked around at him.

"What is it, Nat?" she asked.

"_I was scared. I thought the lorry was going to hit us."_

His words made her heart ache as she thought about the moment that would haunt her forever, her child in the path of an out of control vehicle, and then the Professor pulling him to safety…

Then her son smiled.

"But Daddy saved me. He saved you too."

Ace smiled.

"Yes he did," she told him, and then she turned sharply back to the window as anger rose inside her and she blinked away tears:

Yes he had saved them – but if he had told her in the first place, they could have avoided the accident. They could have stayed at home, far from the scene… But he had chosen not to tell her, deciding instead to be puppet master and control the situation with his knowledge of the future and his use of his Tardis.

_She deserved better - she deserved honesty._

_She felt betrayed._

_He could have told her back in '93, before he left._

_But he didn't…_

* * *

After leaving her son at her friends' house, she went home and packed a bag and then got back into the waiting car and started on the journey back to the medical centre. Without her son in the car, it was easier to think deeply, and to allow her eyes to reflect anger and fill with tears, because her child was not there to ask, _Mummy, why are you crying?_

When the car arrived back at the medical centre, Ace went straight inside as she wondered if she could love and hate a person at the same time, but it felt as if she could, because those two emotions were swirling together in her mind and she could barely make sense of anything, except to know that she had to be back at the Professors bedside, because when he woke, she had questions to ask, and she wanted answers, _not _excuses…

"He's awake," said Aden as Ace approached his room and he came out of the doorway, "I'm quite surprised he's healing so fast – the superficial wounds are vanishing rapidly…of course I shouldn't be surprised because he's an alien, he's capable of healing much faster than us humans –"

"I just want to see him."

Her tone was impatient.

"Fine," he replied, "Stay with him as long as you like- I had a second bed moved into the room so you could stay close to him, knowing the nature of your relationship I expect you would want that."

And he smiled, and Ace did not.

"Thanks," she replied, and then she went into the Doctor's room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Ace went over to the bed on the other side of the room and set down her overnight bag.

She heard him say her name, but did not turn around as she opened the bag, checked the contents for no other reason than she was not ready to look him in the eye, and then he said her name again.

"Ace, I'm glad you came back. I feel better already. Although it's fair to say I do feel like I was hit by a truck…no wait, I _was_ hit by a truck..."

He laughed softly.

As Ace walked over to his bedside, her heart ached as she looked into his eyes, and then she couldn't fail to notice the wounds that were still healing. But she was certain her own wounds of a different kind would take much longer to heal, and it had nothing to do with her being human and everything to do with the anger she felt at his behaviour…

"The morphine's worn off already," he said, "And my back is killing me! And I keep burning up like I've got a fever. But everything else seems to be mending."

He glanced down at the line in his arm.

"I'll be glad when I can have this thing taken out – but it has to stay in a bit longer, just to make sure the bleeding has stopped."

Ace was still standing at his bedside.

The Doctor's eyes clouded with confusion.

"Don't you want to sit down?"

She shook her head, and as he recognised the anger building in her eyes, his own eyes widened as he realised she had worked everything out.

_"You could have told me!"_

There was a brief flicker of guilt in his eyes.

"Oh…_that_. Yes, I could have told you. I could have said goodbye and left you with the message that in the year 2000 you were destined to die. I could have left you with that horrible thought hanging over you for seven years. I chose not to because I knew I could save you – I didn't know I'd be saving you both, in the first set of events you had no kids and you were alone in the car - but I had it all worked out. I was pretty sure that moment was fixed in time, that you would be there at that place and time no matter what went on in your life, I was very sure that was the case. So I intervened. I did it the way I believed was best."

And then he paused as he drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes as he leaned against pillows and a trickle of sweat ran down his face.

"I'm not sure what's in this line, but I think it should come out soon. I'm not feeling too good."

_"Don't change the subject!"_ she fumed, _"You should have told me! Our son went through absolute terror today! It's your fault, you've done it again, you didn't bloody well tell me everything, you just did your own thing and explained later! You gambled with our lives!"_

His eyes widened and he looked genuinely wounded by that remark.

"No, no Ace – it wasn't like that! I'd left you and my son, I'd hurt you enough, I didn't want to add to that by telling you this would happen one day!"

She stared at him. Something _else_ had just fallen into place, and it made her anger raise several notches.

"_He_ knew as well! He did, your Twelfth regeneration – he came to see me back in '93, to warn me that we needed to make the most of the time we had left. But he told me you die and regenerate, he didn't say _my_ life was in danger! Another one, another you who has to keep secrets! You two have got _so_ much in common! You're both secretive, controlling manipulative bastards! You should get a bigger Tardis and share it, and then you could fly off and be just as sly as each other, think how much fun you could both have playing games with other peoples lives!"

He was still perspiring and had started to tremble, but said nothing about it as he looked at Ace feeling genuinely hurt that she had not seen his point of view.

"Our son said he was _frightened_ today!" she said bitterly, "That's your fault!"

"Ace…"

_"You're just a selfish bastard through and through, you've got no understanding of trust or honesty! That's what I hate about you, the way you manipulate situations!"_

"Ace… I need to get his out…something's wrong…" He reached for the needle that fed the line into his arm and tugged it out.

Blood ran from the puncture wound as he took in a couple of breaths, trying to fight off the wave of vertigo that came over him as his twin hearts began to race wildly.

"I think I'm having a reaction –"

"Shut up Professor, you want to know about reactions? You imagine how Nat felt today! Just try and imagine how frightened he was to be trapped in a car with a lorry coming at him out of the fog!"

"Ace, please…something's wrong…"

She saw a flash of fear in his eyes as he sank back against the pillows, fighting for breath as more blood ran from his arm and the cardiac monitor began to spike sharply.

"Oh no…" she said in alarm, and hit the emergency call button.

* * *

Aden had been first on the scene, then as his colleagues hurried in and the doctor's bed was lowered flat she heard the monitor's erratic bleeping stop and shift to a single, endless tone, and her anger was replaced by fear.

She turned to his bedside and saw the monitor had flat lined, the trace on both hearts showing straight, endless lines.

"_No, you can't let him die!"_ she yelled.

Aden took her by the arm and escorted her sharply from the room.

"He's had a reaction to the drugs we used to stop the internal bleeding. I'm sorry, but he's alien, and _everything_ we give him is a risk. I can't waste any more time – wait here, don't get in the way!"

And then he went back into the room as his colleagues worked on the Doctor.

Ace stood there in the corridor barely able to breathe as tears blurred her eyes and she thought about how their last moments together had been spent quarrelling.

She watched from the corridor, through the open doorway as the medical staff fought to save him.

They shocked him twice and then both hearts came back, and spikes on the monitor returning slow and steady.

Aden injected him with a drug that she heard him say would counteract the reaction, and then after a wait of forty agonising minutes, the staff left and Aden stepped out of the room to speak to Ace.

"I'm sorry," Aden said to her, "But he is alien and there are many drugs that we simply haven't tested to check for allergic reaction. He's stable now, he came back very quickly. And because he's alien he _will_ get over this fast. It was a severe reaction, it could have killed him. Good thing you were here to raise the alarm. A few more minutes and it could have been too late."

"But he's going to be okay now?"

Aden paused.

"We hope so. As I said, _most_ of his injuries are healing rapidly."

"Most?"

Now Ace was starting to worry all over again.

Aden gave a weary sigh.

"This medical facility is intended to support the Doctor – and any other form of non-hostile alien life - which needs assistance. But our knowledge is limited. For example, we didn't know the drugs we gave him to stop the internal bleeding would cause such a severe reaction. It's _very _risky to treat a non-human with human drugs. But he's healing fast, that's a sure sign he's recovering."

Ace spoke again and her voice was hushed.

"You said most of his injuries are healing. What's gone wrong?"

"The spinal injury is not showing a great deal of improvement. It could be due to the effect of the medication, or not. I'd assumed he would be completely healed in perhaps a week or two – but now I'm thinking its more likely it will take much longer. Perhaps a couple of months, or…"

He stopped there, looking at Ace as he tried to find the words to break bad news gently.

But Ace had already understood, catching the look in his eyes.

"Or never?"

Now her voice was edged with panic.

"I don't know," he replied, "I'm the top man in my field and even I don't know that. At best he could be back on his feet and recovered in eight weeks, at worst he may never walk again. I just don't know."

Ace nodded slowly.

"Right, I see..." she said quietly, and used every ounce of her determination not to cry, and succeeded out of sheer effort.

"Only time will tell," he added, and then as he turned and walked away, the pain in her heart grew heavier as she thought of the bad decision the Professor had made, and the price he was paying for it.

"Time…" she said quietly, thinking that was one thing that couldn't help this situation now – what was done could not be undone, and the Professor only had himself to blame for the outcome. She was still angry, but now she was torn between yelling at him or taking him in her arms and embracing him.

Ace went back into the Doctor's room quietly, and found him sleeping.

* * *

It was later in the evening when the Doctor woke up again.

"What happened?" he murmured as he opened his eyes.

"You had a reaction to the medication they gave you to stop the bleeding," she told him, "Your hearts stopped - only for a moment, they got you back quickly."

He gave a weary sigh.

"Earth medical facilities will never fully understand how I'm put together," he said weakly, "Not even one designed by UNIT. I'm just thankful this happened here - at least they know a little about me. If I'd found myself in any other hospital on earth I think they would have killed me."

"I can't say they're doing a good job of keeping you alive here, either," Ace replied.

Then the subject was changed, and it was the Doctor who spoke first about the argument.

"By the way, you're right Ace," he said, "I should have told you everything. But don't blame my other regeneration – he just wants to help. And I don't blame him for not telling you, he doesn't know you, he's come back through time to put things right, no doubt because he's tuned in to my old memories – and he knew we were both destined to die unless the timeline altered. I don't blame him for keeping that back. He wanted to be discreet."

"As opposed to you wanting to hide it from me."

Her tone of voice had not been accusing, and as she spoke she took hold of his hand and held it gently.

He looked up at her.

"I'm sorry Ace. I'm sorry I got it wrong, I'm sorry I hurt you, it's the last thing I'd ever want to do. But I just left you in '93 and came straight here, it was all I could think to do, just to be sure I could stop the accident from happening."

Much of the anger that had been simmering inside her grew still.

She blinked.

"You could have gone anywhere in time and space but you just came back here to save us? You could have come back to do that any time…you didn't want to go…you really didn't want to leave us?"

The Doctor took in a sharp breath as he squeezed her hand, and for a moment she felt a flicker of panic as she wondered if he was about to suffer another reaction to the drugs.

But then she noticed he had done that because he was crying.

"I'll never lie to you again," he said in a tearful voice, "I'm sorry Ace, I know how it looks to you but I didn't think – I just left and moved forward seven years and stopped it from happening. I had to save you, I couldn't think of doing any less and if I'm guilty of being selfish it's because I love you and my hearts were broken. _I didn't want to leave!_"

Her anger was gone now. The memory of it would linger for a long time, she was sure of that – but it was most certainly cooled now.

"I'm staying here tonight," she replied, "Just to be sure you're okay."

She leaned over him and brushed a tear from his face.

He had stopped crying quickly, that touch to his cheek had done it, and she had no idea how much hope was rising in his twin hearts as he silently wondered if he ought to reconsider his decision.

"So you and Nat have been safe?"

"Yes," Ace replied, "He's physically human, I don't think alien forces out there in the cosmos are likely to know he's your son. We've been just fine."

"Good," he replied, and he definitely felt stronger now and it reflected in his voice.

"I want to leave as soon as I can," he told her, "I want to go home. I _need_ to be home."

Ace looked at him in surprise.

"You can't go back to the Tardis like this. You're not strong enough to go anywhere, not yet – least of all flying off into time and space! You can't even walk yet!"

He gave her hand another squeeze.

"That's not what I meant. I meant my _other _home – if I've still got one."

Ace looked down at his hand tightly placed in hers and she smiled as she shook her head.

"Oh Professor… I don't know…"

"_Please,"_ he said, and she still didn't dare to look in his expressive dark eyes for fear of seeing a pleading expression like a lost puppy. He was good at that one, always had been, and she knew seeing him so vulnerable, so sad, would be difficult to resist.

"Professor, I'm not sure if you should, I mean you're going to leave again and we've got our son to think of. None of this is fair on him."

He fell silent.

"You'll be well enough to leave soon," Ace added, trying to find a reason not to feel sad about her refusal, "You're getting better. It might take a few weeks, but you'll get there."

"I might not," he said, "I've been told I might not get over the spine injury. I might not walk again. I could be in a wheelchair until my next regeneration."

He had stated the fact so calmly. The look in his eyes was one that said he had resigned himself to the possibility, and had accepted it. She saw no fear, no tears, just a calm acceptance of his situation.

"It won't come to that."

"It might," he replied, "But I don't need to be able to walk to fly the Tardis."

Ace blinked away tears.

He looked into her eyes, it was that look of his that held her gaze and as he spoke again, his voice was soft and reminded her of those days back in '93 when they had first discovered what it meant to share a bed, and their love, and all that had come along with it.

"I didn't expect this to go so wrong for me," he told her, "But it has and that's fine. That's perfectly acceptable to me because I made the choice to take control of the situation in the way I thought I should. My mistake, my consequences. I'm only sorry that I didn't think about how to handle this. If I had I would never have let you and Nat be there on that road. I would have warned you in advance. But I didn't and this is how it turned out, this is me facing up to _my_ mistakes."

Ace fell silent as she sat there holding his hand. And then he let go of her hand, and as she felt the loss of his touch wrench at her heart, he managed a smile.

"I can cope, Ace. I've been in worse situations. Please don't get upset again, I hate seeing you cry, because I know it's all my fault."

She looked at him, and she thought hard about the situation.

"I've missed you for seven years," she said quietly, "I know to you it was yesterday, but I'm the one stuck here with time moving onwards and taking me with it. You were out of my reach, out there somewhere far away in the Tardis. I thought I'd never see you again."

"And I'll be back in my Tardis and gone soon enough," he replied, "I don't want to cause you any more pain. That was never my intention."

Ace made her decision.

"You should go home as soon as you can." She agreed, "You'll feel a lot better when you're out of here."

"Yes," he said quietly, "Back to the Tardis."

_"No."_

The Doctor looked at her in surprise.

"No?"

Ace smiled.

"You can come home to us, to your family," she said, "And I want you to stay as long as you need to, as long as it takes. I'm taking you home, Professor."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As the Tardis floated above the earth, the Twelfth Doctor was deep in thought.

"So," Clara said, "What's our next move? If it was me, I'd want to go ahead a few years to see what happens after he leaves. There could be some kind of clue in her side of the story."

"No," he said, looking towards the earth below as it sat there in the velvet night of space, stars lighting like glowing pinpricks all around, if he looked far enough he was sure he could see eternity waiting at the end of it.

But he was no closer to lifting the weight out of his hearts.

It lingered there, as if more had to be done. This was not the end of his involvement, he knew it for certain.

"There's a point in time I need to reach," he said thoughtfully, "Like two strands of time that need to fuse to fix something…"

"Or perhaps two Doctors?"

He looked at her intently.

"I was wondering about that but I wasn't sure. Now I am. I love it when you're right."

Then he held up his hand, turned it over and studied it.

"The question is," he said, "When?"

And then as his gaze turned back to the stars that stretched on forever, time reached out and grabbed him.

He closed his eyes, breathing it in as it caught him in its flow and images flashed to mind:

The Seventh Doctor had been weak after his accident, very weak… Then a pain shot through his back and he remembered it as if that lifetime had been yesterday:

_It had hurt like hell. _

_But all he wanted was to go home to Ace._

_Ace forgave him._

_Ace loved him…_

He snapped his eyes open.

"_Stop it!"_ he said sharply, willing those thoughts to shift and slip back into the past before the emotion overwhelmed him and stayed embedded in his heart.

These were the memories of another man, another lifetime – another persona, nothing to do with who he was today. He didn't want to end up tied forever to Seven's past.

_But that man had loved Ace. _

_He had loved her more than life; he would have given anything to be with her._

Anything…

He focussed again on the memories streaming towards him, watching and listening as Clara stood back seeing and hearing nothing as he took in all that time shared with him.

_And then he understood._

_It came to him as if scattered pieces of time were forming a picture._

"I think I know what needs to be done…well, I know where I need to be…I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to do to help. I don't have all the answers…but I think you're right."

He turned away from the view of the stars burning deep in space and looked over at Clara.

As she met his gaze she saw something burning in his eyes that had been absent moments before - hope, knowledge…something had reached out to him, and he had grasped it and understood.

"We do need to go forward," he told her, "But I don't need to speak to either of them yet. I need another look inside his Tardis."

Clara's eyes filled with confusion.

"His Tardis?"

"That's right," the Doctor told her, "His police box can tell me all I need to know. I just need to get in there and look around when he's not about. That's why we need to go forward -."

"So I was right."

He smiled on hearing her say that.

"Partly. But we're not going as far into the future as you planned to do – we just need to go forward ten months from now. December 2000, we'll go back to the week before he leaves forever, I'm guessing the Tardis will be in the back garden."

Clara could not sense all the Doctor could, nor could she reach out like he did and touch that other life. No more whispers of what had been came at all as she listened, and then shook her head.

"I don't understand. What do you know, Doctor?"

He looked across the console and smiled at Clara. Then he walked around the console and stood in front of her, looking into her eyes as the past continued to tug at his memories and those memories burned brighter:

_Ace had taken her Professor back. _

_She had forgiven him for his secrecy and the choices he had made regarding the crash._

_She had watched as he struggled with his injuries and had decided he would go home with her to recover._

_He had stayed for ten months. _

_He had wanted to stay forever, and would have done so, had Gallifrey not given him orders…_

Regret suddenly weighed heavy on his hearts and the Doctor drew in a sudden breath, taken by surprise as the pain and the grief hit him all at once. He was blinking back tears and grateful that Clara was there to place her hands on his arms and steady him.

"What is it, what do you know?" she asked him again.

He blinked away tears as he focussed on the face of Clara Oswald.

"He loved her _so_ much…. still does. There's a place out there, in another time, where he's still around, still living before his death. There are many versions of me out there, all in different times and places, all existing yet rarely meeting…No matter what happens to Seven and Ace, they will always love each other even after he meets his fate and they are separated…"

He took in a sharp breath and fought back his tears, determined to remain here, now, in this moment, not allowing himself to drift off into a sea of emotion that threatened to drown him over a life long ago spent.

But as he blinked, Clara's features changed and the Tardis melted away and he reached out, grabbing her and pulling her closer as he looked into the eyes of another.

"He left in '93…and he went straight to the year 2000 to stop her dying in that crash. For her, seven years went past but for him it was the blink of an eye, and even that was too long to be away from her… _too long_…"

The Doctor's grip on her tightened as he pulled her up close to him, crushing her against him as tears glazed his eyes.

"_I love you Ace!"_ he said, and sounded just like his Seventh incarnation.

Clara jaw dropped as she stared at him, but had no time to speak as he smothered her mouth with a passionate kiss.

As she slid her hands up to his shoulders her head swam as she kissed him. She had thought of kissing him before, but not now, not like _this_…he didn't even know who she really was…

She pushed him back gently and looked into his eyes.

"_I'm not Ace."_

He stared at her, and for a moment seemed lost in confusion.

She said it again.

"I'm _not _Ace."

The glowing walls of the Tardis came back into focus.

The Doctor still felt caught between the past and the life he now lived, he had a new body, a new face… his Seventh life had been many regenerations ago, yet now it felt almost as if that other life was sliding in and taking over.

"The timelines are crossing too closely," he said, turning from Clara as he focussed on his Tardis, glowing and wide with a huge, sleek console – nothing like the other Tardis, with that small main control room with white walls…

"Doctor?"

He heard her voice, and then he turned around and looked at her and this time, saw only Clara.

"Sorry," he said quickly, "For a moment I was him, I could see her, not you… Oh, he's like me in so many ways…but _not_ like me. In some ways I think he's his own worst enemy, he'll do anything to stay with her, give her anything but what she wants the most…"

"Which is what?" Clara wondered.

"The truth," he told her, "He's so shady...he doesn't have to be. He's desperate, he's still doing it his way, I'll be glad when this over, when I can break free of the past once and for all! And I _am _sorry I grabbed you like that, I was in a moment from long ago."

Clara smiled.

"Good thing you touched on a passionate moment and not on a quarrel!" she said, "It's fine. I'm not offended."

"I know that," he replied, and turned back to the view of space and the earth below.

Clara said nothing as she stood there, thinking on what had just happened. She wondered if that kiss that had left a tingle on her lips had been from his Seventh or his current regeneration – _which one of them had kissed her at that moment?_

She wasn't going to ask him. His thoughts were far away from what had just taken place as she silently made some calculations, considering how to end the link that was causing two timelines to blur and touch.

"We have to take a look in his Tardis," he said, still feeling a swirl of emotions that did not belong in this lifetime shifting about in his hearts, "I know what I'm looking for and it could be the key to everything."

* * *

After several days at the UNIT medical facility, Ace was relieved that her Professor had finally been allowed to leave and go home to her.

Once they had arrived home she had helped him up the stairs, he had managed to walk by leaning on her and his umbrella as he struggled with every step. The pain had made his face turn pale as he had insisted he would be fine, and Ace didn't believe a word of it, and she only felt happier when he was in bed, in the spare room, resting once more.

"I'm going to meet Nat from school now," she said to him.

The Seventh Doctor was feeling exhausted from climbing the stairs so soon after the accident but he smiled as she mentioned their son.

"I can't wait to see him," he told her, "I want to get to know him."

"You will," Ace replied, and then she closed the door and the Doctor leaned back against the pillows supporting his painful back as he heard her go back down the stairs.

Then he gave a sigh as he looked around the room.

"_The spare room wasn't my plan,"_ he muttered, thinking of how warmly Ace had promised him he was welcome to come home.

Then he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror that sat on the dressing table opposite the bed, and noticed his black eye was almost gone. The deep cut above his eyebrow was healed now, he had pulled out the surgical thread by himself, something Dr Aden Mason had not been too impressed to discover. The other bruises that covered his body were also healing; the bruising was fading from sight now.

He guessed that he was healing rapidly now his body had recovered from the shock of the worst of his injuries. He would probably be back on his feet in a few more days, too – he knew it because the pain in his spine was also starting to fade out.

_But he had no plans to tell Ace that, not yet…_

He knew he was giving her less than the truth yet again, but after missing out on seven years that he had lost by a single trip from '93 to 2000, he had no plans to miss out on any more time with his son, or with Ace.

He also knew he had made a mistake. Ace and the boy had been safe. He had left for nothing, but hadn't known it at the time, when his emotions had been in a mess and screwed up his usually calm and measured thinking process…

He didn't know how long he had left before his time in this regeneration would come to an end. But he did know for sure he wanted to spend the time he had left with his family, because he had tried to walk away and the pain it had cost him was something he never wanted to feel again in his life, no matter how long or short that life turned out to be…

* * *

A short while later, the bedroom door opened and Nat walked in.

He hesitated for a moment as he looked at the Doctor, smiled and then noticed his cuts and bruises were healing fast.

"Are you better now?" he asked.

The Doctor smiled.

"I'm much better! Come here, let's have a talk. I've been away for a long time and I'm sorry about that. But I'm back now."

The little boy went over to his bedside and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Is your eye all right?" he asked, pointing to the fading blackness beneath his right eye.

"What, is it still bruised?"

The boy nodded.

"Show me where," the Doctor said.

Nat reached out and gently touched his fading bruise.

"Ouch!" the Doctor said, bringing his hand up to his eye, "That hurts!"

And then as the little boy's eyes widened in alarm, he took his hand away from the bruise and his eyes sparkled as he laughed.

"Not really, I was joking! I'm better now!"

And Nat started to smile.

"I thought it was hurting you."

"No, I'm fine," he promised him, "And when I'm well enough to get up, I'm going to spend lots of time with you, son. I'm going to take you to the park, I'll take you to school –"

"In your Tardis?" he asked excitedly.

"Maybe not in the Tardis," he replied, "That's my special ship. I have to hide that. So don't tell anyone about it, not even your best friend, okay?"

His son nodded.

"Okay, Dad. I know you have to hide it. Mummy said it's safer that way."

"Mummy's right," he said fondly, and he playfully touched the tip of his son's nose as the two of them exchanged a smile.

"It's going to be different from now on," the Doctor promised, "Because I'm not leaving you again. Don't tell Mummy yet, but I'm going to stay forever. I've already made up my mind about it."

Nat's eyes shone with joy.

"You're not going away again?"

The Doctor briefly frowned.

"Well one day I might have to leave – but that could be many years from now. Until then I'm staying here with you and Mummy, I'm staying as long as I can."

And then his son hugged him.

The Doctor held on to him tightly as he forced a smile and held back tears for all the time he had wasted needlessly by being apart from those he loved. It wouldn't happen again. He had made up his mind about that; he was home to stay…

* * *

Much later as shadows drew in early and a cold wind blew outside, as tree branches tapped on windows as they swayed in the winter chill, inside the house lights were glowing and the heating was on, and as their son went off to sleep with a smile on his face as the thought went around in his head that Daddy was home forever, Ace went quietly into the Doctor's room.

He was on his back, covers up to his waist as he slept peacefully wearing light blue cotton pyjamas that he had left here so long ago. Ace had kept all his things, as if she was trying to keep a part of him with her during his absence.

She stood over him and smiled as she turned on the bedside lamp and the soft light fell across this pillow and bathed the room in the warmth of its glow. She ran her hand over his hair, and then she gently kissed his cheek.

He gave a sigh and opened his eyes.

"Ace…I didn't know you came in. I must have been asleep," he said, and lied convincingly. He had actually woken an hour ago, got up and found he could easily walk to the bathroom and back if he took his time and leaned on his umbrella for support. He was healing quickly now, far more quickly than he wanted to – because he didn't want to hear her say he ought to be leaving any time soon…

"How do you feel?" she asked him.

He looked up at her and smiled.

"Much better for being home with you. It was great talking to Nat this afternoon, I know I've missed out on so much. I don't want to miss out on another moment."

She looked at him intently.

"You want to stay? I mean, stay forever?"

He took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"If you'll have me, if you can bring yourself to forgive me," he said, looking at her apologetically, "Although I'm not exactly recovered yet. I may never recover. But if I do, will you have me back?"

Her eyes filled with tears, and he was caught between feelings of guilt at bending the truth, to feeling overwhelmed by the love he saw in her eyes as she put her arms around him.

"Of course I will!" she said, kissing his cheek, "I love you, I want you to stay! And don't worry about anything, you looked after me enough times when we used to fly around the galaxy in your Tardis, now I want to look after you."

And now he felt _very _guilty.

"I don't think you'll have to do that, sweetheart... I'm getting better."

Ace stroked his hair again, letting her fingers rest on the dark curls at the back of his neck as she looked into his eyes.

"We both know that might not happen. And it's okay. I _want_ to look after you. Please don't look so guilty; it's not your fault you can't walk. I know you made a stupid decision but you'll always have to live with that. And it doesn't matter now, what matters is you're back home with us."

And she hugged him again, and as he held her he rested his head on her shoulder, thankful to be back in the arms of his Ace, who at that moment could not spot the guilt in his eyes as he realised he was still being less than truthful with her, but he decided to keep up the pretence, because he wanted to be sure he had her, because he could not bear to lose her a second time…

"Can I get you anything?" she asked him as she helped him to lie back on to soft pillows.

He met her gaze hopefully.

"I was thinking I might be warmer back in our bed…but it's probably too soon to be thinking about that."

"No, of course it's not. I missed you last night. I wanted you next to me, but I didn't think it would be fair to move you when you were in so much pain."

His eyes lit up at once.

"I'm sure I can get up with your help!" he said, and folded back the covers and sat up. He felt a vague ache in his back and pain registered on his face as he leaned against her.

"Maybe you should stay here, Professor."

"No!" he said quickly, "I can manage – just help me to stand."

And she did, and he leaned on her and found he was actually recovering far quicker than he first thought; with every sleep he seemed to wake with less and less pain, but he faked it well enough across the hallway and into the bed he used to share with her.

Once he was in bed and she had fussed over him arranging the covers, he felt much better in every way.

"I feel like I'm home now," he told her, "This is where I belong, in our room."

Ace smiled as she sat beside him and then she laid her head on his chest, listening to the beating of his twin hearts.

As she closed her eyes and gave a contented sigh, emotion washed over him as he ran his hand over her hair, then tangled his fingers in it as he gripped a little too tightly, blinking back more tears as he spoke in a voice that was breaking with emotion.

"I will never leave you again. I love you, I'll stay forever. I'll marry you. I won't let you down again."

Ace broke free from his grip and silenced him with a kiss.

"I know that," she said gently, "Stop crying, I've forgiven you…"

And then she placed a single kiss above the open neck of his shirt, before unbuttoning the rest of it and tracing a path of kisses down his body.

"I'll be gentle," she whispered, "I know you're still hurting."

The Doctor felt guilty all over again as she loosened his clothing, then her lips were brushing against his hips and those kisses were still working lower.

"I don't deserve you," he said in a low voice, "And I definitely don't deserve _that_, not after what I did…"

She looked up at him.

"Okay Professor I'll stop, shall I?"

There was a wicked gleam in her eyes.

He laughed.

"No! Don't do that! Keep going!"

Ace placed her hands gently on his hips, then kissed him again, and finally as her kisses traced lower, he caught his breath and closed his eyes and lost himself in a moment that took him over as his need for her consumed awareness of all else.

* * *

The days passed and the Doctor begun to feel settled in his old home, especially now he was back in their bedroom and sharing a bed with the mother of his child again. As time went on he allowed himself to look forward without fear – one day he knew he would have to leave, but not until he was forced to do so. These days were to be cherished, and he knew it.

He spent every moment he could with Nat, who had grown close to him quickly.

Ace had showed him many pictures of their son as he was growing up and after seeing seven years of photographs, the Doctor had felt deep regret that he had decided to stay away for so long.

Then Dr Aden Mason had come over to visit and examined him and told him that he was very glad to inform him that it seemed that he would make a complete recovery. On hearing those words he had lowered his voice and asked him _not_ to tell Ace yet, because he wanted to be sure he was going to recover, and he couldn't be sure until it had actually happened… And Aden had looked at him with confusion in his eyes but smiled and nodded and told him he wouldn't say a word to Ace, if that was what he wanted.

And then one afternoon a week later, when a light flurry of snow had dusted the garden white and the Doctor was downstairs on the sofa, resting while Ace devoted her self to him, wrapping her arms around him as the fire glowed in the hearth, while Nat played in the garden, the Doctor decided to make the most of their time alone in the front room.

He had moved closer to kiss her, and Ace had responded by sliding her hand up his question mark jumper as she murmured softly to him.

They kissed again and then Ace got up and said she would check on the dinner before they got too distracted and caused a fire in the kitchen.

The Doctor had sat up and looked out through the glass patio doors, in time to see Nat sliding along the iced up path. The boy slipped and he caught a look of panic on his face as he yelled out, skidding out of control and heading straight for the glass doors.

The Doctor jumped up, opened the door as he yelled his name and dashed out to the patio, half slipping as he ran, and caught his son in his arms.

Nat looked up at him.

"Thanks Daddy!" he said, and then he let go of his father, and turned back to the open door, and smiled, but the Doctor's eyes just grew wider as he stared at Ace in shock.

"Daddy caught me!" he said.

Ace was glaring at him.

"I thought you could barely walk?"

The Doctor laughed nervously.

"So did I," Good thing I found out otherwise, our son could have gone through the glass!"

And Nat ran inside, unaware that a quarrel was about to take place.

Ace was still glaring.

"How long have you been pretending?" she said angrily.

He looked at her apologetically.

"I just didn't want you to change your mind and tell me to leave."

"Why would I do that, I told you I love you, don't you believe me?"

He paused for a moment, and then he spoke from his heart, finally giving her honesty:

"_After what I did, not telling you about the accident, I'd tell me to leave,"_ he said quietly, _"I'd think about it and think about it some more and eventually decide, I can't let that go."_

The anger that had glittered in her eyes faded out as she gave a weary sigh.

"No, Professor, I _did_ forgive you. It sounds like you can't forgive yourself."

As he looked into her eyes she knew he was speaking the truth.

"I can't," he said, "I look back and I see there were so many other ways I could have handled that situation – I just didn't give it enough thought. I put you and Nat through a scary experience, I should have made you avoid it."

"It's done with now, it's over. Stop looking back."

"I'll try," he said, "But it's not easy. I love you so much I'm scared of making another mistake."

"And you just did, pretending you were still in pain!"

"I just didn't want you to change your mind and tell me to go."

"I won't do that!"

Ace pulled him into her arms and hugged him, and his hearts missed a beat as he fought back tears and clung to her.

"Don't be silly!" she told him, "I love you!"

And as she let him go he smiled.

"I love you too. I really do, I'll never stop."

And then Ace gave a squeal of surprise as he lifted her into his arms and carried her back into the house.

He paused to kiss her as they reached the front room, and the his eyes widened in alarm and he quickly set her down again, pressing a hand against his aching back.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that."

She laughed.

"Don't start again, I know you're better!"

"Yes I am but I think I just pulled something lifting you up."

She smiled as she shook her head.

"I've got no sympathy, that's what you get for making it up!"

"But it's really sore, I've still got a weak spot, Ace!"

"Then maybe you should go upstairs," she said, looking into his eyes in a way that made more than just his hopes rise.

"And then what?" he asked her.

Her seductive tone vanished instantly.

"And then get the heat cream from the bathroom cabinet and put it on your back!" she said, as amusement danced in her eyes.

Relief washed over him as he saw no trace of anger remained.

"I mean it Ace," he promised her, "I will be open with you from now on. No more secrets, no more deception."

Ace nodded.

"I know," she replied, "I'm seeing something in your eyes I've never seen before. Honesty. You're holding nothing back."

"_And I never will again."_

She leaned closer and kissed him.

"You and me are going to work out," she said, and she felt sure she was right.

As he walked out of the room the Doctor was smiling, but his smile faded as he made his way up the stairs. Ace was talking as if they had forever together – and they both knew that was not true – eventually, destiny would be fulfilled, he would meet his fate and regenerate and forget her.

_They both knew it, but neither wanted to say it aloud._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Spring had turned to summer, and then the weather had cooled into autumn.

And it had been the best time ever, the best time of their lives as Ace and the Doctor lived together with their son as a family, doing ordinary things. The Doctor found he liked ordinary life, because it meant waking next to his lover and then turning over and going back to sleep, only to be woken again by her kisses. She kissed him every morning, and then he took her in his arms and made love to her.

He had not missed travelling. He had lived for centuries flying around the universe back and forth in time in his blue box and now, with her, all of that had eased to matter.

Life was ordinary. A life spent on earth with Ace and their son – and it was all he needed.

_Perhaps it had always been what he needed._

He had taken Nat to school, met his friends and felt proud when his son had said, "This is my Daddy. He's marrying my Mummy next year."

The Doctor had enjoyed the long summer holidays, with Nat off school for six weeks, and they had spent a week down at the coast. They had walked along a promenade as Nat ran on ahead towards the entrance to the pier, and then they stopped as sea breeze blew off the water and kissed like they never wanted to stop. They had spent the whole week with his hand barely leaving hers, they were never apart, and when they went back home and Nat went back to school they made the most of the time they had alone together in his absence.

It seemed with every passing day their love grew even deeper, if that could be possible for two people already deeply in love.

Then autumn turned to winter, and as the skies grew grey reminding him of the foggy afternoon on the day of the crash, a shadow began to loom over him:

_He couldn't see it but he could feel it – he was sensing the end was near._

But he kept it from Ace, because she was happy and he didn't want to ruin her happiness until he had no other choice. He started to wish he could hold on to every second and save it somewhere in time, frozen forever so he could stay there, walking from room to room that held his memories, with life sealed off like a ship in a bottle.

_And as December stretched on, that feeling of the approaching end grew closer._

He held Ace tighter while she slept at night. When he looked at his son, his hearts ached to think he would not see this child grow up. Humans lived such short lives in comparison with his own and knowing that, and the fact that he had once walked away from his precious family, was a weight that was almost too much to bear; in some ways he guessed the end would at least be a final break from the pain of losing them…

_And then it happened._

He felt it, as if the Tardis was reaching out to him, compelling him to leave the house in the middle of the night to answer the call from a signal that he could not hear, but he sensed it and he knew before he opened the door of the Tardis and stepped inside, he knew it was a call he had to take, and there would be an order he must obey…

The Doctor took the call, listened and quietly agreed, and then he shut down the channel.

Then he stood alone in his Tardis and looked around at the white walls and suddenly the place that had been home for so many centuries seemed like a tomb as the walls felt as if they were about to close in.

_He knew._

And now Ace needed to know…

* * *

It was almost dawn, the sun was splitting through weakly as clouds fought to dominate the sky.

The Doctor was dressed and ready to leave. He had just passed his son's open doorway and paused to look at him sleeping peacefully; there was a child looking forward to the end of term, to Christmas time and presents and a holiday spent with his mother and father…

_It wasn't going to happen. _

Ace was still asleep. She was on her back with her hair trailing over the pillow and breathing easily. She was happy. She had everything she wanted, and he was about to tear that all away because he had no choice.

He drew in a breath and struggled to speak.

"Ace…"

That had done it, she was awake, and he was about to shatter everything.

Ace blinked tired eyes and sat up, noticing it was early in the morning and the man who usually slept beside her until breakfast time was already up and dressed.

"What's going on?"

He looked into her eyes. She saw sadness there in his expression and knew at once.

"Professor?" she said as tears sprang to her eyes, "It's not time yet… it's not…"

He took hold of her hands and drew in a breath and decided if he was going to cry, it would not be now.

"I've had an order from Gallifrey to collect the Master's body for burial on his home planet. I have to do this. If I refuse the Time Lords will force me to do it any way. I have no choice. This is it, Ace. This is goodbye."

She gave a sob and he pulled her into his arms and then his own resolve crumbled as he held her tightly and wept into her hair.

"You can't leave now," she said tearfully, "No, it's not fair – it's _never _been fair, we deserve more time!"

He blinked to clear his vision and gently brushed the tears from her face.

"Time," he said softly, "It's a strange thing. Even I don't have enough of it. But we knew this would happen one day. And now that day has come. I can't change this."

Her heart was breaking as she looked into his eyes, and he knew it. He was sure her pain matched the agony in his own twin hearts, but all he could do was take control of the situation, just as he had always done, regardless of the outcome. He had vowed to think before making a decision, to honest with Ace, and to put her first in all things. He had been determined never to hurt her again, but now he had no choice in the matter. If he refused, the Time Lords would force him to their bidding…

"_Oh Ace, I'm so very sorry,"_ he said, and he drew her into another embrace and clung to her as they wept together.

* * *

The Twelfth Doctor had landed his Tardis around the corner from the house.

As he and Clara hurried along the street and turned into the next road, the cold December air made her shiver.

"So let's run through this one more time," she said, and her breath made icy clouds in the air, "We're going to sneak around the back of the house and you're going to unlock his Tardis with your key –"  
"It's the _same _key."

The house was in sight now and he quickened his pace.

"And then we go inside and look for…what?"

"You'll just know," he told her, "I'm counting on you knowing. You're the only one who can do that for me, you picked up on the same patterns of messages that I did. Pieces of time floating around…you caught some too."

They were at the gate. He opened it and hurried up the path and went around the side of the house, and Clara followed.

The Tardis was at the bottom of the garden. He drew the key from his pocket and slid it into the lock, turned it and the door of the police box opened.

"We have to be quick," the Doctor said, glancing back at the house. No lights were on yet, but they soon would be. The Seventh Doctor would be leaving very soon…

* * *

Clara followed him inside and closed the door behind them.

She looked around in surprise at the console and the small room that housed it.

"This is nothing like your Tardis."

"I've redecorated a few times over the years," he replied, and then he pushed open a door and led her into a corridor.

She looked down at a passageway that seemed endless.

"I don't know my way around. This place looks confusing…it would be very easy to get lost in here!"

"No," he replied, "We don't need to go too far…it will be one of the first doors…not this one or that one," he added, pointing left and right, "Come with me, it could be up here."

"We can't go too far, he could come back. You said we needed to do this without his knowledge. Why are we doing this?"

The Doctor had just opened a door and then closed it again, and then he moved on to the next one.

"The Tardis is capable of providing everything I need – me and any companions I have on board. That is why we need to keep searching. Try that one on the left."

She reached for the handle, and then turned back as she heard him draw in a sharp breath.

The Doctor was looking down the corridor yet seeing something beyond it, time was showing him something and as he blinked a tear ran down his face and he turned from the corridor and brushed it away with the sleeve of his jacket. He drew in a slow breath and explained:

"Before, I was seeing what was already gone. And I _don't_ want to see what's to come in the planned destiny. I'm looking for what's up there," he told her, waving his hand in thin air above his shoulder, "It's what's up in the air, what has yet to be fulfilled. The turn left or turn right decisions that decide our destiny…_that's_ what I'm looking for. You touched on it before."

Clara paused, looking at him intently.

"What made you cry just now? What did you see?"

"I saw his death. And now I remember it. The Master's not dead. He forces the Tardis to land back on earth and my Seventh incarnation gets caught in a shoot out between street gangs. He's shot several times and taken to a hospital that knows nothing about his alien composition. They're trying to save him but they accidentally kill him. In his last moments, when he was slipping away, he thought of Ace and his son. And then he regenerated and the trauma of his death caused him to forget his past."

_"Your past."_

He shook his head.

"That was another lifetime. I'm regeneration number Twelve. He was Seven. That's a _very_ long time ago. I have no ties left to him."

"But you do," Clara said, "Biologically, Nat is your son."

"It's only DNA. Are you going to open that door or not?"

He had swerved around the subject and Clara left it alone, reaching for the handle again. She opened the door and stepped into the room, and as she looked around the Doctor stood behind her, leaning in the open doorway as he studied every detail of all the Tardis had done to alter a once bare room.

"Well?" he said to Clara, and he was smiling now, but she was still looking around at the soft lilac walls. Then she walked into the middle of the room and looked up, pausing to touch butterfly homes the hung from the ceiling. They turned, slowly making gentle chimes as their metallic wings touched.

"It's not quite ready," the Doctor said, "But it's here now, that means it's not up in the air any more."

Clara smiled and her dark eyes sparkled.

She turned back to the Doctor and saw he was smiling too.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you look _very _pleased with yourself."

"I'm just happy for them," he replied, and he was still smiling as he turned away and left the room. Clara followed him out feeling certain he was happy too, he just didn't want to admit the truth - that deep down inside, his twin hearts were far softer than he cared to admit…

As they headed back down the corridor towards the console room, the Doctor spoke again.

"By the way, there are wire cutters in your pocket."

"Why?" she asked, reaching into her jacket and pulling out the cutters.

"Because I need you to do something for me. It's best if I don't personally do it. But there's nothing stopping _you_."

They reached the main control room and Clara looked at the Doctor.

"What's next?"

"We deal with a problem and then wait for him to turn up," he told her, and then he indicated to a metal panel at the base of the console.

"Open that up. I need you to do some vandalism for me."

Clara opened the panel.

"Tell me why," she said, and the Doctor explained in between giving instructions as she worked on the contents that lie inside the panel.

* * *

As the sun was covered by grey cloud pushed across the sky by ice winds, the Seventh Doctor walked up to the door of his Tardis.

"I have no choice," he said, and then he turned back and looked into the eyes of Ace and their son.

"If I could choose another path, I would take it but I can't refuse the Time lords."

He had been crying, but not now. He had decided to face these last moments, to say this last goodbye without breaking down. He had wept in her arms as he clung to Ace and told her he loved her over and over again. But he would not weep in front of his son; he wanted the boy's last memory to be of his father facing his destiny without fear.

He stepped forward and put his arms around Ace.

"We've come such a long way," he said softly, "And I want you to know that the most wonderful time I've ever had, the greatest time of my life, of all my lives – has been here with you and Nat. Nothing can ever change that."

And he hugged her tightly, and letting go was agony that cut through his hearts.

Then he turned to his son, whose sad eyes were filling with tears.

"You haven't really lost me," he said softly, "I'm always up there somewhere, just in another dimension, another place and time. And no matter what happens to me, you and Mummy will be in my hearts forever. Come here, son. I love you."

As he embraced his son, he blinked away tears and then let he go, taking in a deep breath as he held back from weeping.

"I do love you both so very much," he said, taking one last look at his family.

"I love you too Professor," Ace whispered, "I'll love you forever."

He pushed open the Tardis door and then turned back to Ace.

_"You'd better go back in the house. The tea's getting cold."_

And then he winked at Ace, smiled for his son and went inside the Tardis and closed the door.

* * *

His hearts were still heavy as he walked up to the console and reached for a lever to activate the Tardis.

He paused, thinking about the last kiss he had shared with Ace. There was so much he wanted to remember, so much he wished he could hold on to. He was still deep in thought as the door to the Tardis corridor opened. But he didn't notice that, as he stood there with his hand on the lever ready to activate the Tardis on his final journey.

He tightened his grip on the lever.

And then another hand closed over his, inching it forward a fraction.

The Tardis left earth, and then hovered above it, going nowhere.

The Seventh Doctor turned his head and looked up at the man who had prevented him from leaving.

"You again?" he said to his Twelfth incarnation, "You shouldn't be here. You know how this journey ends for me!"

The Twelfth Doctor stepped back from the console and as he did so, Clara joined him.

_"But it doesn't have to end,"_ she told him.

The Seventh Doctor glared at his later incarnation.

"This had better be good!" he said bitterly, "Because I'm out of ideas _and _out of time!"

"Maybe not," Clara told him.

"_Definitely not,"_ the Doctor said to her, and they exchanged a smile.

The Seventh Doctor looked utterly confused.

"If I don't go back, the Time lords will drag me back!"

"Yes they will," he said, "Eventually. But it's up to you what you do before that happens."

The Seventh Doctor looked at him in disbelief.

"If I defy them, they will force me to do it anyway! I have _no_ say in this!"

"And I thought I'd taken pride in being a rebel all my lives…" the look in the Twelfth Doctor's eyes hardened, "What's the matter, Doctor? Get soft, did you? Lose your edge while you were busy playing happy families?"

The shorter Doctor stepped closer and glared up at him.

"You don't know anything about me!"

"Yes I do, I've been linking to your love life and your problems far too much lately! Thanks a lot, I'm not long regenerated and I get bombarded with scenes from your tangled up life!"

Then he stepped back, ran his fingers through his greying hair and turned to Clara.

"We know there's another way, right?"

She nodded.

"Definitely. She told us."

The Seventh Doctor's eyes filled with confusion.

"Who?"

The Doctor and Clara exchanged a glance and Clara noticed a brief flash of pride in his eyes, and then it was gone.

"_Samantha."_ They said in unison.

The Seventh Doctor shook his head.

"I don't know who Samantha is."

Clara smiled. _The Tardis knew, that was why the lilac room with the butterfly mobile had appeared…_

The Doctor drew in a deep breath, pushing away the anger that had risen as he had quarrelled with his Seventh life.

"You carry one regret that runs through everything," he told him, "You made a mistake, an error of judgement, it was a reaction to finding out Nat was on the way. You lost the first seven years of his life. You missed out. _But it doesn't happen with her. Your daughter is born in the Tardis_."

The Seventh Doctor's eyes grew wider.

"No, that's impossible…I've just left Ace. And I've got a son, not a daughter."

"There's a nursery back there along the corridor," Clara told him, "The Tardis was thinking ahead of you."

His eyes were still wide.

"But the Time lords won't allow me to –"

"That can't stop you," the Doctor told him, indicating to an open panel beneath the console where several wires had been severed, "Don't worry, I didn't touch it. So neither of us can take the blame."

And Clara held up the wire cutters and smiled.

"They can't get me for it," she said, "So what if I cut your main communication and tracking line that links you to Gallifrey? I'm scattered throughout time – they won't know which one of me to pursue!"

The Seventh Doctor still looked bewildered.

"So what are you suggesting? That we just slip through a crack in time and keep running until they find us?"

"They'll find you eventually," the Doctor replied, "And you'll have to go back and carry out their orders. But it's going to take a while to find you. _Maybe twenty years_."

And then he understood.

The Seventh Doctor started to smile.

"I'm going back for Ace!"

And then he paused, looking to the other Doctor.

"How did you know?"

"I saw _someone_ stop you shifting the activation control. I haven't had this body long, but fortunately I _do_ recognise the back of my own hand."

And then he thought of something else and checked his watch.

"Maybe you should wait for an hour. Just go back to her one hour from when you left."

"Why should I do that? She's distraught, she thinks I'm gone forever! I don't want her feeling like that for one second!"

The Doctor glanced at Clara, and then he looked back at his Seventh incarnation.

"She told me, she said after you walked out on her all she wanted to do was see you standing there in the snow, that was her wish, to see you one more time."

"And one hour from now," Seven guessed, "It's snowing?"

The Doctors exchanged a smile as the Seventh Doctor altered his co ordinates for landing.

And then Clara spoke up, addressing the Twelfth Doctor.

"Deep down inside I think you're really quite romantic!"

He glanced at her briefly and then looked away.

"Yeah, what ever. Just keep it to yourself, I've got a reputation to protect!"

And she smiled and said no more on the subject.

* * *

As the Tardis had vanished, Ace had stood there oblivious to the cold as a snow sky gathered above.

Her son looked up at her sadly.

_"I want my Daddy to come back."_

His words cut through heart and she blinked away tears.

"Your Daddy," she said, "Is a Time lord. He's a very special man. But that means he had to go away - there was no way he could have stayed forever. It's not his fault, he was ordered to leave. And he loves us."

She leaned down and put her hands on her son's shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"He loves us," she said again, "And if there was a way for him to come back, he would. Always remember he loves us both and he always will."

And then she hugged him, but let go again as she reached for his hand.

She took one last look down the darkened garden path to the empty space where the Tardis had stood, and felt sure that space would always feel as empty as the hole in her heart now the Professor was gone.

She wanted to shut herself in her room, press her face into the pillow that carried the scent of his hair and cry until she had no tears left to shed, but not yet, not until Nat was sleeping. The Professor had showed immense courage on saying goodbye and to fall apart now seemed like an insult to his strength.

Ace led her son back into the house.

_And as she closed the door, a light flurry of snow began to fall…_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As the Seventh Doctor prepared to throw the switch that would activate the Tardis and send him back to Ace, he looked at his Twelfth incarnation as hope shone in his eyes.

"Thanks for helping me grab another twenty years. It's not long to us but it will be to her and my son. And it's better than no time at all. I get to see Nat grow up."

"And Samantha," the Doctor reminded him, and Clara noticed the softness in his eyes as he said his daughter's name. She smiled as she looked away and walked over to the window, where she took a look at the earth set against a blanket of night sprinkled by stars. He had said to her that it was _only DNA_. She doubted he meant that…

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone.

"Do you have one of these?"

And Clara looked around, wondering why he had lowered his voice.

The Seventh Doctor shook his head.

"I won't need a phone where I'm going."

"I've got a spare, I've set it up for you," he drew a second phone out of his pocket and handed it to him.

"But I won't be calling anyone," he told him.

The Twelfth Doctor explained quickly:

"You can use it to link to the rest of us. It was my Tenth regeneration's idea. He set up a private network called the Space And Time Transcendence Gateway – it's a way for any of us to communicate with another of our regenerations anywhere, at any time. I've set you up as Seven and your password is the names of your kids but you might want to change that – I don't think you'll get hacked, we keep the security tight…"

Clara looked at him in surprise.

"It's like a social network for Timelords?"

"Just the versions of myself," he told her.

Clara smiled hopefully.

"Can I join?"

"_You're not a Timelord."_

He turned back to the Seventh Doctor.

"We've been using it since we saved Gallifrey. It's a way for us to keep in touch without anyone else in the universe knowing about it."

The Seventh Doctor took the phone from him and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks, I'll take a look at that later on," he said, and then he turned back to the controls as he smiled and his eyes shone with joy.

He thought of the woman he loved, left on earth and heartbroken.

"_Don't cry Ace,"_ he said softly_, "I'm coming to get you."_

And he threw the switch and the Tardis took a brief flight back to earth, one hour after he had left.

* * *

Ace was sitting by the fire with her son as she tried to comfort him.

"Daddy will always love us," she said quietly, "He just can't be with us any more. And he misses us as much as we miss him."

And as the firelight flickered, her heart ached as she wondered if he was still on his final journey, or if his death had already occurred.

And then as the whoosh and groan of the Tardis echoed outside, she turned her head, staring as a glow shimmered and the blue police box reappeared in the garden.

"_Daddy's back!"_ Nat exclaimed as he jumped up from the chair.

Ace got up and ran to the door and opened it, hurrying out through the falling snow as the door of the Tardis opened. And then she stopped, blinking through heavy snowflakes that drifted down illuminated by the light that shone from the open doorway of the police box.

_He was standing there._

_The professor was standing there as the snow fell, and he put up his umbrella and walked towards her…_

Ace was aware that her son had joined them and he shouted _Daddy_ again, but she could not take her eyes off the sight of her Professor, standing there in the snow as he looked into her eyes and held out his hand.

_"I've cut ties with Gallifrey," he said, "The Time lords will catch up with me eventually, but it could take twenty years. And that's time enough for you and me to slip through a crack in time, and go on a trip around the twelve galaxies. And I'll still be back in time for…what ever destiny has planned."_

He was still holding out his hand.

"_Ace,"_ he said softly, _"Come with me. We still have time."_

And she reached out and took his hand, and as he caught her and pulled her close, she blinked away tears of joy as the feel of his hand in hers proved this was no dream.

"But how did you manage to do this?" she asked.

The Twelfth Doctor and Clara had slipped out of the Tardis and made their way around to the side of the house, and as the Seventh Doctor looked over Ace's shoulder, he smiled, and then he looked back at Ace.

"Let's go home," he said, and as he held her hand she in turn took hold of their son's hand, and they went into the Tardis together and the door closed.

* * *

The Twelfth Doctor was still looking towards the Tardis.

"It's going to work out just fine," he said thoughtfully, "He's got years before they find him. He can outrun them for a _very_ long time – maybe more than twenty years. It's going to be just fine, I know it is."

He could feel those pieces of time still floating around in the air, and he smiled as he tuned in.

"He's got no regrets now. One day, the Timelords find him. They have to because it's his destiny to regenerate, and they return him to the place and time where he dies. But it won't happen for a long, long time. He's going to take her hand and run away and never look back."

"I wish we knew that for certain." Clara replied.

"We do," he said, briefly showing her his phone, "He's linked to all of us now. Messages can come from any time or dimension anywhere at any time from any one of me at any given moment in time – because _every_ version of me is out there somewhere, and he's no exception. He's with her, and they're going to be happy. They finally get what they wanted –more time."

Nat looked around wide eyed at the bright console room, and then he looked up at his father, who had put down his umbrella and brushed snow flakes from his jacket.

"It's all true, everything Aden told me – you're a Time lord, you're the Doctor!"

And the Seventh Doctor looked down at his son.

"There are three rules in here," he said sternly, counting them down on his fingers, "One, I'm in charge. And Two…you _don't_ call me Doctor or Professor, you call me Daddy because I'm your father! And Three…"

He started to smile as warmth crept into his voice. Then glanced at Ace who smiled back at him as love shone in her eyes and she recalled a day long ago when he had made a similar speech to her.

He turned back to his son.

"Well, I'll think up the third eventually."

And then he turned back to the console and keyed in a new flight plan.

"Are we ready?" he said to his family.

"Yes!" Nat exclaimed excitedly as Ace smiled and nodded.

"Let's go, then!" he said, and he threw a switch, and the Tardis began to whoosh and groan as it shimmered and shifted, and began to disappear.

* * *

As The Twelfth Doctor and Clara were leaving the garden, they heard the sound of the Tardis as it departed and the Doctor turned back, looked to the sky and smiled.

"He's done it. He's free to be with her now."

"Run you clever boy," Clara whispered, feeling certain she could sense the joy the two of them shared somewhere in another time and place.

The Doctor looked at her and smiled.

"It really has gone. All that pain and regret, it doesn't exist any more."

And he took her by the hand and they walked back to the Tardis together.

* * *

As he closed the door and the warmth and familiar hum of the Tardis greeted him, the walls seemed to glow that little bit more as if to welcome him home.

"I'm glad it all worked out," Clara said, "It couldn't have been easy for you to be haunted by old memories like that."

He looked at her, and in the glow of the Tardis, for a moment seemed unearthly as his eyes reflected years of old memories of other lifetimes that passed fleetingly through his mind.

"I'm full of old recollections," he replied, "But I'm used to living with it – I'm just not used to having the past touch so closely with my own life…well, I mean in such a direct way. I was seeing those flashbacks like it was yesterday. Now it's all lifted, it's fading away like a bad dream."

And then he paused, and a flicker of surprise registered in his eyes.

"I think we might be seeing them again on our travels. And quiet possibly meeting the kids too."

"I wouldn't be surprised," she told him, "I think that might happen too."

And then the Doctor's phone bleeped.

He drew it from his pocket, turned his back to Clara and took a look at the message, and then he began to write something back.

"Who is it?" she asked him.

"It doesn't concern you, it's just a notification."

"From your gateway that links your other selves together?"

He paused in the middle of the message and glanced at Clara.

"Yes, and its private. _Only_ for Timelords."

"Right," she replied, "I see, only for you and all the rest of _you_. Well I hope it's an important message."

"Not exactly," he replied, sounding distracted, "That was the intention when we set it up but mostly we just…" he hesitated.

She started to smile.

"You just chat?"

He finished his message.

"You're not wrong," he replied, and then he remembered something and he snapped his fingers.

"I won't be a minute, I've got something for you…just wait here."

And he walked out of the control room, leaving his phone on the console.

_Clara's gaze fell on the phone. _

_She looked back to the doorway that led into the corridor beyond._

_There was no sign of the Doctor…_

She stepped forward and picked it up, touching the screen to illuminate it.

And then Clara saw the picture that had been posted far from the future in another time and place:

The Seventh Doctor was gazing adoringly at a baby girl he cradled in his arms.

'_It's different this time'_, he had written, _'No more mistakes. I'm with my kids forever. And I love my Ace so much. She is amazing_. _Thanks Twelve, you saved my life and so much more besides .I'm so proud of all of them, especially my baby girl.'_

And then as she read the Doctor's response, she felt her heart warm through with love for him.

The Doctor had written a short reply, _'Me too. It's more than DNA,' _and then he had simply added, _Hashtag proudfather._

Notifications were popping up – from some of the other Doctors.

"Oh my God..." she whispered, "They are _all _there…"

The picture of the Seventh Doctor and his baby daughter had been liked by Doctors Four, five and six. Nine had left a comment that simply said _Fantastic!_ and Ten had written _Happy for you,_ and more comments were coming through and she wanted to read them all - but she heard the Doctor approaching and quickly put the phone back on the console.

He went straight up to it and checked it again, smiled and then put it back in his pocket.

Clara smiled too, covering her guilt as she felt sure he wouldn't have expected her to pry like that when his back was turned.

"I just wanted to say thank you for being so helpful. This hasn't been an easy time for me and you really helped a lot."

And he gave her a small bouquet of flowers.

She looked at him in surprise.

"I wasn't expecting this…thank you."

The Doctor smiled back at her, and then he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"I think I saw a vase in your bedroom," he said, and she looked into his eyes and felt her face flush all over again.

"My bedroom?"

"Yes," he replied, "I'm sure it was in there. _You'd better go and do it now - put them in water before they die_."

And then he turned back to the console and set about plotting a course for their next journey.

Clara walked out of the room and down the Tardis corridor, smiling down at the bouquet. All trace of romance had vanished from his eyes after he kissed her, but now she knew he was certainly far softer than he cared to admit. Perhaps one day he would get closer to her, only time would tell, as it did with all things…

Clara was still smiling as she took the flowers into her room.

And in the console room the Doctor finished keying in their next destination, and then the Tardis disappeared, travelling on through time and space.

End


End file.
